Coming Up Roses
TITANS WIN 10TH TITLE UNDER COACH GARY ROSE
Carl Albert senior R.T. Sherman was cramping on top of dealing with a hernia. The turf was slippery in the steady rainfall, making matters worse.
But he still pushed forward.
“This is what being a Titan is about,” Sherman said. “I’m fighting both of (those injuries). It’s all about my mindset. My mindset told me not give up, not to quit. If I want this gold ball I had to go out there and get it. I didn’t give up, and my brothers didn’t neither.”
Despite the ailments, Sherman nearly rushed for 100 yards Friday while scoring two touchdowns, and the Titans’ defense delivered late to lift No. 3 Carl Albert past No. 2 McGuinness 34-29 for the Class 5A state championship at Wantland Stadium.
The state championship is the Titans’ 12th overall and 10th under head coach Gary Rose. It’s their first since 2012.
“I can’t even describe to you the journey for this season,” Rose said. “It’s miraculous, it’s amazing, there’s a lot of people that get credit for that. I get way too much credit sometimes. But it’s amazing that we’ve accomplished this at our school.
“We’ve got a good football team. No, we’ve got a great football team now.”
Carl Albert (13-1) built a 34-23 lead with 7:41 left on Sherman’s second score, leaving the rest to the defense.
McGuinness (12-2) quickly answered with a touchdown run by Zach Segell, but failed to get the two-point conversion. After the Irish defense got a stop at midfield, they drove to Carl Albert’s 20 with less than one minute remaining.
But facing fourthand-5, Carl Albert safety Jason Taylor broke up Jarrett Lewis’ pass to Matt Chancellor in the end zone to seal the game.
Sherman — normally a linebacker used sparingly on offense — was pressed into full-time duties on both sides of the ball after sophomore Dadrian Taylor sprained his ankle in the second quarter on his first carry of the game.
Sherman scored on a 12-yard run later in the quarter that put the Titans ahead for good. In the second half, he rushed for 83 of his 95 yards.
“He’s a stud,” Rose said. “He stepped up when we needed him. He was hurting and Jaylenn (Lewis) was hurting. We had no running backs left and he just stepped up and did a great job.”
McGuinness struggled in the first half, losing three fumbles that led to Carl Albert’s 21-10 halftime lead behind an offensive onslaught from senior quarterback Johnny Bizzell as he atoned for a dismal performance in a regular-season loss to McGuinness.
He scored on a 68-yard run and passed for another score, while rushing for 124 of his 183 yards. He also passed for 97 of his 128 yards.
“I tried to stay under control and do what I could to lead the guys to victory,” Bizzell said.