The Service Cougars overcame some early adversity and pulled away late in a 27-18 win over the Colony Knights on Friday to advance to the Division I state championship game for the first time since 2013.
Even though both teams were able to move the ball in the first half, both offenses struggled to hold on to the ball in the early going of their semifinal matchup. The first quarter alone featured three fumbles, including two by Service ball carriers. The two teams combined for six turnovers in the first half.
“Today definitely wasn’t a pretty win,” senior linebacker Connor O’Farrell said. "Colony definitely is a good team but what it took was us wanting it more and us having more energy on that field.”
The Knights scored the first points of the game on a short field goal from Michael Bradley but the Cougars would respond just before halftime with an 8-yard touchdown strike from quarterback Jacob Scott to LeTrevyon Sanchez-Dickerson to take a lead they would not relinquish the remainder of the game.
Service committed to the ground game in the second half and extended its lead to 10 points after Scott ran in a score from 5 yards out. Despite a missed extra point, the touchdown made it a two-possession game. However, Colony kept the game close and cut the Cougars’ lead to a field goal after Knights quarterback Zach Loutzenhiser found receiver Dominic Freeman in the front left corner of the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown in the final seconds of the third quarter.
“It’s surreal,” said senior running back Ryan Williams, who had a fumble lost in the first half, about his emotions after helping his team punch their ticket to the finals. “We have a lot of fortitude. … We train day in and day out to deal with adversity.”
The Cougars leaned heavily on the longtime rugby player in the fourth quarter as they pulled away from the Knights. Williams scored both of his touchdowns in the final 12 minutes to build up Service’s two-score lead and finished with a team-leading 159 rushing yards.
His physical and hard-nosed running style wore down Colony’s defense in the second half as he broke several arm tackles and dragged defenders for extra yards. Despite his individual success on the ground, Williams gave all of the credit to his offensive line, which opened the lanes that sprung him for big gains.
“It all starts with the O-line,” said Williams. “You can’t play football without a good O-line, it’s all the O-line.”
As for Colony, its Cinderella story came to an end after finishing the regular season strong with three straight wins and a week after upsetting the No. 1 team in the state in the East T-Birds in the quarterfinals.
“Honestly, if you take the penalties and the turnovers, I think we outplayed them," Knights head coach Robbie Nash said. “I’m really proud of how far these kids went, they fought right to the end, and nobody expected us to come this far.”
The large schools title game next weekend will feature a southside rivalry between the Cougars and the South Wolverines. When these two teams met in the regular season, Service walked away with a 37-20 victory but this time a championship trophy is on the line. The last time these two teams met in the state championship game was in 2012, when South won 28-19.
“We’re so excited,” said O’Farrell. “Southside will reign again.”