In a battle of top 10 teams, it was Class 3 No. 6 St. Pius X coming away with the 34-13 win over Class 4 No. 10 Savannah on Friday night in the last week of the regular season.
Pius (7-2) threatened to run away with it early.
Charles Ross took the opening kickoff 85 yards and put the Warriors on top 7-0 just 12 seconds into the game.
Points came just as quick on the next Warrior possession.
A 76-yard pass from Hudson Bailey to Tommy Hutsler on Pius’ first play from scrimmage gave them a 14-0 lead less than three minutes in.
"It's great when you have guys on your special teams that can do what our guys can do," Pius head coach Anthony Simone said. "It was great to get off to a start like that, and we had some bumps, but we figured it out."
Savannah (6-3) got its big play on an 84-yard run by Cade Chappell at 4:23 of the first.
The PAT was blocked to keep the lead at eight (14-6).
In the final minute of the first, Pius scored its 21st point of the quarter on a three-yard run by Larry Cascone.
After one quarter it was 21-6 Warriors.
Savannah stayed in the game with a screen pass that Kaden Calloway took for 51 yards and a score.
The deficit was now 21-13 and remained so at the break.
The third quarter saw another big play from Pius.
Hutsler caught the wide receiver screen, juked his defender and raced 71 yards for six.
Pius led 28-13 at 9:23 of the third.
A fourth-down stop late in the quarter ended up being the knockout punch for Pius.
The Warriors stopped Savannah at fourth down at their own 14 and turned the ensuing possession into points.
Cascone capped the 86-yard drive with his second rushing TD, putting the Warriors ahead 34-13.
"That's a good football team (Savannah) and they're going to make a run in the playoffs," Simone said. "It's great for us going into the playoffs to play a quality opponent."
The Class 3 postseason begins next Friday.
