Dave Sundin | Special to the TimesValwood celebrates a victory against Trinity Christian in the GISA Class 3A state championship game Friday at Five Star Stadium in Macon.

MACON –– The Valwood Valiants staved off a potential game-winning drive by Trinity Christian with 34 seconds remaining to capture their third GISA state championship, winning 14-9 on Friday night in Macon.

Touted by Valwood head coach Ashley Henderson as ‘the best in the state’, the Valwood defense showed why with the game in the balance. 

Following a Valwood punt, Trinity Christian opened their drive with a 26-yard run by Zach Jones and a pair of 5-yard runs to put the Lions in striking distance––first-and-goal from the Valwood 4-yard line. 

After being flagged for an illegal substitution, the Lions had four chances to get into the end zone. Valiants defensive tackle Ray Gordon stopped Seymour on third-and-goal from the 5-yard line. On fourth-and-goal from the 7, Seymour rolled out to his left looking for a receiver in the end zone––his pass fell incomplete but a flag was thrown. The call went against the Lions for having an ineligible receiver downfield, giving the Valiants the ball back with 34 seconds remaining.

Quarterback Caleb Burns took a knee in the victory formation as the clock struck 0:00, sealing the Valiants’ third state title in six years.

“I think we have the best defense in the state,” Henderson said. “(Trinity Christian) is a fine football team right there. That’s as good a team as we’ve played. Our kids bowed their necks––they had our backs against the wall, had a touchdown called back and man…it was just a heck of a ballgame.”

Added defensive tackle Isaiah Bristol: “We just made sure we had outside containment and made sure everybody did their job. (On that drive), I kept encouraging (the defense) to keep outside containment and they did––we came out with the win.

“After a while, we had to switch up our game plan and…we got it right.”

Facing a second-and-12 from their own 41-yard line, Burns hit Cam Walker for a 59-yard touchdown pass––or at least it looked that way. The play was called back as the Valiants themselves were whistled for having an ineligible receiver downfield, nixing the game-sealing touchdown.

The negated touchdown was the second bad break for the Valiants in the second half. Late in the third quarter, Burns completed passes to Billy McLendon and Walker for gains of 19 and 26 yards respectively. Following a pair of Sam Martin runs, the Valiants looked at a third-and-five from the Trinity 21. 

Burns’ potential touchdown pass to McLendon bounced off McLendon’s hands into a Trinity defender’s helmet, careening into the hands of the Lions’ Jalen Neal at the 1-yard line––Burns’ second interception of the night with 3:18 to go in the third quarter.

When asked what he felt after having both plays go awry, Henderson deadpanned.

“That wouldn’t be appropriate for the newspaper,” Henderson said. “It is what it is. We had to overcome it, the kids found a way and that’s what life’s about––getting knocked down and scraping your butt back up and keep playing ball.”

Despite throwing two interceptions in a game for the first time all season, Burns completed 14-of-19 for 154 yards and a touchdown. After the game, Burns praised the Trinity defense for creating momentum swings throughout and making big plays.

“We knew coming in that their defense was probably their strongest point,” Burns said. “Give credit to them, they did a great job shutting me down tonight. That was one of the best defenses I’ve played but it really comes down to those summer workouts, man. When you’re going as hard as you can, it’s moments like tonight that we win the game. It’s crazy.”

Neither team scored in the second half as Burns’ pass to Cam Walker gave the Valiants a 14-9 lead with 5:12 left in the first half.

Trailing 9-0, the Valiants took over behind Burns and the passing game. On first-down, Burns hit Sam Martin for a 24-yard gain to start the drive. The Valiants found the end zone with a nine-play, 68-yard drive punctuated by a six-yard touchdown run from Walker to make it a 9-7 Lions lead with 7:06 left in the second quarter.

Walker did a little bit of everything for the Valiants. The reigning Region 3-3A Player of the Year caught eight passes for 90 yards and a touchdown while adding a rushing touchdown and a 31-yard completion on a flea flicker to McLendon for a key first down midway through the fourth quarter.

“It means a lot to me,” Walker said of coming up big in the title game. “I told my team I’m giving them everything I got as long as they give me everything they’ve got, too. And we all did that.

When asked about completing the flea flicker, Walker’s eyes lit up.

“It was great,” Walker said smiling. “I should’ve thrown it farther and let (McLendon) run it in there but I had to make the completion first instead of going for it all.”

The Valiants looked to have the upper hand at the start of the second quarter, shutting the Lions down for three straight possession to bring up a fourth-and-12 from the 32-yard line. Lions coach Kenny Dallas elected to go for it on fourth down and quarterback Shep Hancock found wide receiver Jordan Mitchell for a 32-yard touchdown connection to put the Lions ahead 9-0 with 10:49 to go in the second quarter.

The Lions forced the Valiants three-and-out on their first two possessions. The second hold forced the Valiants to punt from their own 36-yard line on fourth-and-5 with 5:40 to go in the first quarter.

The Valiants botched the snap as the ball sailed over the head of kicker John Miller. With a crew of Lions closing in, rather than diving on the ball or letting the Lions recover for a sure touchdown, Miller booted the ball out of his own end zone for a safety to give the Lions a 2-0 lead with 5:28 to go in the first quarter.

Things started bleak for the Valiants as corner back and wide receiver J.D. Scurry left the game with an injury on the team’s first defensive play from scrimmage. Needing to replace Scurry’s offensive production, the Valiants got a lift from McLendon, who filled in at receiver.

“Our kids are resilient,” Henderson said. “We had one go down and someone else jumped in for him. Billy McLendon played his butt off tonight and he’s just a sophomore––I’m so proud of him. J.D. Scurry’s part of the heart and soul of this team. You don’t replace a kid like J.D. but we were able to overcome him getting hurt.”

In his sixth season as Valiants head coach, Henderson earned his third championship ring but when asked about what the win means for his seniors, Henderson dropped his head as tears welled up in his eyes, pausing for several seconds before offering his response.

“I love this senior class,” Henderson said, his voice cracking. “I told them the only thing I’m mad at them about before this game is that this is our last game together, that I love this senior class…I love this football team. They love each other, they lay it on the line for each other and they weren’t going to be denied tonight.”

The Valiants finish their season 10-3 while the Lions saw their 11-game winning streak come to an end, capping their season with an 11-3 mark.