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CPA’s group of seniors closed out their high school careers the same way they started them: raising a gold ball.
After back-to-back frustrating losses in championship games the last two years, the Lions made sure there was no doubt this time around. Behind a punishing ground game, the Lions cruised past Boyd-Buchanan 35-13 for the Division II-AA title.
“We went out the same way we came in, on top,” CPA senior and Ole Miss offensive line commitment John Wayne Oliver said after the win. “We won it freshman, got unlucky the past two years but being able to to persevere after those two losses just feels amazing.”
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CPA set the tone early on on legs of Carolina linebacker commitment Crews Law. On fourth and short Law found daylight to his right and took off 73 yards for six. From there, the Lions never looked back.
With his older brother Cade in attendance watching, Law would go on to be named the game’s MVP rushing for 121 yards, a touchdown and recorded 5.5 tackles on defense. While a potential Mr. Football award could lie in his future, Law was more focused on the present than anything the future could hold.
“Knowing all those hours in the sand pit, in the weight room, just all those hours with all the blood, sweat and tears have paid off, it just feels great,” Law said. “To do it the right way with guys I’ve been going to school with since elementary school is the best feeling in the world.”
Not only did the seniors cap their careers the right way, CPA’s sophomore group showed that the Lions won’t be going away any time soon.
Rawls Patterson, the younger brother of former CPA standouts Kane and Langston Patterson, rushed for two touchdowns in the win to go along with 108 yards on 16 carries. Fellow sophomore Owen Cabell caught a pair massive receptions late in the first half including a 35-yard touchdown strike with 3:24 remaining in the second quarter.
“We’re very fortunate to have a lot of great families with great kids,” CPA coach Ingle Martin said. “For now excited about celebrating this one tonight.”
Oliver was a little more outspoken about the future of the Lions with guys like Cabell and Patterson leading the way.
“Having guys like that already just shows that this is one of the best program’s in the state,” Oliver said. “We had great seniors ahead of us and didn’t think we could get it done without them. They may be thinking the same thing but we’re telling them no. They can get it done without us.”
