McCALLIE 64, POPE JOHN PAUL II 14Star: McCallie tailback Alex Trotter went off against the Knights, rushing 10 times for 177 yards and three touchdowns and taking a Javon Craig screen pass 53 yards for a score -- all in the first half.Up next: McCallie (9-2) will play at No. 2 seed Montgomery Bell Academy (8-2). Pope John Paul II ends the season 3-8.
Pope John Paul II opened its Division II-AA playoff game at McCallie with a successful onside-kick recovery.
Things went downhill from there for the Knights.
Behind an outstanding performance by tailback Alex Trotter, the Blue Tornado (9-2) rolled to a 64-14 win to advance to the quarterfinals of the playoffs and a rematch next week at Montgomery Bell Academy. The win was the Blue Tornado's biggest win since a 68-0 defeat of St. Andrews in 1950.
"I thought defensively we played much better than we have been and with more consistency," McCallie coach Ralph Potter said. "That's going to be the key going forward into next week."
Even though the Knights recovered the kick, they were forced to punt and Trotter broke off a 45-yard run on the Blue Tornado's first offensive play. He capped McCallie's opening drive with a 5-yard touchdown run. A botched extra-point attempt was salvaged when Hayes Cape hauled in a desperate pass from Tyler Payne for the two-point conversion to give McCallie an 8-0 lead.
The Knights (3-8) responded with a 50-yard touchdown run by Jermaine Mason to cut the margin to a single point, but Trotter ended the first quarter with a 35-yard scoring run.
"We bounced back and were 8-7 right at the end of the first quarter and were in good situations," Pope John Paul II coach Jerry Joslin said. "Then we have a couple of breakdowns and Trotter takes over."
The Knights lost three players to injuries in the game, including Mason, who was hurt trying to catch a pass over the middle in the second quarter and sent to an area hospital. With only four seniors, Joslin said Pope John Paul II struggled with depth as the year went along.
"It was just a young ballclub, but our seniors were great leaders," Joslin said of his team. "I'm very proud of our seniors, but we've had multiple injuries. We started with 58 players, and we dressed 40 tonight."
McCallie broke open the game in the second quarter, with quarterback JaVaughn Craig connecting with Payne and Tyrik Stewart for long scoring passes and Trotter scoring on a 60-yard run and a 53-yard screen pass from Craig.
"It felt good," Trotter said. "We have a lot of people hurt ... and we just wanted to come out and play well and give them another chance to play next week."
"I just wanted to stay focused and give my best."
Trotter finished with 230 yards of total offense and four touchdowns -- all in the first half -- for the Blue Tornado (9-2), while Craig was 6-of-7 passing for 171 yards and three scores.
"We just wanted to come out and execute," Craig said. "We have a really good chance at winning a state championship.
"Being a quarterback, I've got to be a leader and lead my team to victory. Hopefully we can get a big win next weekend and have a chance to come back and play here again."
While offering high praise for his defense, Potter said Trotter has continued to impress and be a team leader for McCallie on and off the field.
"Alex has been a success story in so many ways," Potter said of his senior tailback. "He's developed into a tremendous football player with great speed but also inside power. But he's an even better person. He's a guy that came in and was probably in our lowest math classes, and now he's taking calculus and has a 3.67 GPA."
With the game well in hand, Trotter, Craig and many of the other starters watched their backups continue to wear the Knights down. Shawn McColley, Robert Riddle and Jalyn Shelton all had scoring runs in the second half for McCallie, who outgained Pope John Paul II 549-212 for the game.
"It's always good seeing the younger guys get out there and perform," Craig said. "You know they always dream of playing varsity, so seeing them out there brings happiness to everybody."
McCallie now gets to prepare for another game against MBA, who won 58-41 last week in a game where the Blue Tornado were often their own worse enemy.
"We just can't give them things," Potter said of next week's rematch. "They had a kickoff return for a touchdown, we had a botched snap that gave them a touchdown and two coverage busts for touchdowns.
"We just have to play with more consistency on defense, we can't make mistakes in the kicking game and we need another good game offensively."
Contact Jim Tanner at jtanner@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6478. Follow him at twitter.com/JFTanner.