St. Pius slips by Dunwoody for region crown
Tuesday, November 10, 2009 2:15 PM EST

The St. Pius X Golden Lions tamed the Dunwoody Wildcats 10-7 in a classic match-up and claimed their first region championship since 1968. The Lions finished the regular season with a perfect 10-0 record and will host the Franklin County Lions in the first round of the GHSA state playoffs next Friday.

“I am so happy for our football team, our coaching staff and our school community that supports everything we do. We haven’t had to play four quarters all year, and when we had to, our kids rose to the occasion. They did it with class, and they did it with pride,” said Head Coach Paul Standard.

The Lions rode to victory behind a combination of ferocious defensive play and an unrelenting ground attack led by senior fullback Cole Moon.

Pius won the opening coin toss and went right to work under the direction of sophomore quarterback Trey White. The Lions drove down the field with a big 11-yard run from junior back George Kennedy. Several plays later, Moon kept the drive alive on fourth down by driving his feet forward while carrying several defenders on his back for a key first down. On the next play, Moon plunged in for a Pius touchdown. Senior kicker Joey Gargiulo tacked on the point after and Pius led 7-0 with 4:13 left in the first quarter.

Sophomore Dunwoody quarterback Justin King got his squad back in the game by firing a long halfback pass to position the Dunwoody attack at midfield. Later in the series, King scampered 33 yards for a Dunwoody touchdown and senior kicker Austin Breed knotted up the score 7-7 with the extra point with 1:52 left in the first quarter.

The second quarter was a tale of determined defenses with both teams trading possessions while keeping yardage at a premium. The Pius defense stepped up and forced Breed to attempt a long field goal that he pushed wide left of the goal post. Dunwoody had another chance late in the half when King passed over the middle but Pius free safety Brian Gee laid out the receiver with a bone-crushing hit and the half ended in a 7-7 tie.

The Wildcats received the ball to open the third quarter but the Pius defense hit back hard and forced Dunwoody to punt as a result of the stellar play of senior linebackers Robert Lucisano, Adam Hall and Reid Callahan. The Lions took over on offense and went on the attack. White and sophomore back Geno Smith traded runs to move the ball down the field. The drive stalled and Joey Gargiulo came on and drilled a 44-yard field goal to put Pius back on top 10-7 with 4:20 left in the third quarter.

Dunwoody came back and mounted a long drive that resulted in an apparent touchdown but the Wildcats hopes were dashed when the play was overturned as a result of an illegal forward pass.

“We executed our basic game plan and consistently made the right reads when it mattered,” said Dunwoody Coach Michael Youngblood. “We did everything we were supposed to do [on defense], but in the end the cards just didn’t fall our way.”

The fourth quarter was thoroughly dominated by the Pius defense. The Wildcats got the ball back with a chance to win but Pius seniors Adam Hall and Reid Callahan kept up the pressure on King with repeated sacks that ended the drive.

“The region championship means so much to this team and our community,” said White. “We are going to use this win as fuel for the playoffs and keep this undefeated season alive. We are on a mission and we are determined to go all the way,”

Pius finished with 217 yards on 54 plays while holding the Wildcats to 145 yards on 36 plays. Senior defenders Adam Hall, Robert Lucisano and Reid Callahan combined for 33 tackles while Hall and Callahan each recorded a sack. Moon ran for 119 yards on 23 carries and finished the regular season with 1,037 yards and 15 touchdowns. Kennedy added 35 yards on 11 carries and White finished with 52 yards on 12 carries.

Pius’ 10 points was the lowest scored by the team for the entire season. The Golden Lions had been held to under 40 points only two times this season - against Marist and Grady.

St. Pius heads into the first round of the playoffs as the number one seed in region 5-AAA and will host the region 8-AAA number four seed, Franklin County, at home on Friday at 7:30 pm.

Dunwoody will face Elbert County (7-3) at home on Friday.

“Looking ahead to next week [against Elbert County], we need to forget this game fast,” said Youngblood.

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