SEFFNER — Armwood has been no stranger to the state final four during the past decade, and usually, the defense has gotten the Hawks there. But as the team kneeled before Sean Callahan in the end zone after Armwood's 40-20 Class 6A region final win against Gainesville on Friday, the veteran coach couldn't help but acknowledge the new unit reigning supreme at Lyle Flagg Field.
"In the past the defense has been the heart of our team," quarterback Darrian McNeal said. "But this year, we have heart on the offense, too."
No one showed that more against the Hurricanes than McNeal, who rushed for 136 yards and three touchdowns while passing for 227 and one more score as he led the Hawks to their third straight state semifinal appearance.
But from the start, it was clear this year's matchup between the 6A powerhouses wouldn't be the blowout Armwood staged last year in its 56-0 victory.
Armwood scored on the fourth play of the game when McNeal took off for a 51-yard touchdown run, but Gainesville responded quickly with a 36-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Caelan Christian to Jordan Giberti. Christian, a 2,000-yard passer for the second straight season, had a strong night, completing 16 of 32 passes for 203 yards and two touchdowns.
It was exactly the kind of performance Callahan said his Hawks were expecting. Still, that didn't make him any easier to stop.
"He's a kid who has a bunch of offers so we knew what we were getting. And we practiced it," Callahan said. "But being at that speed, we weren't very good at the beginning. It took us some time to get used to it."
Christian's second scored came late in the third quarter, when he hit Dock Luckie for a 50-yard touchdown pass. But for most of the game, Armwood made the big plays.
Throughout the first half, the Hawks did major damage with big gains. After McNeal's early touchdown, the next score, a 1-yard keeper from McNeal, was set up by 33- and 22-yard receptions from Eric Collins and Trevor Laurent. And with just a minute and a half to play in the half, McNeal hit Dennis Harris with a 50-yard touchdown pass.
"He can hurt a lot of people with his feet, and he can throw the ball . He's so dangerous," Callahan said. "I'd like to have a real quarterback and put him at receiver, but then I'd have to take the ball out of his hands on a lot of plays."
Even after the break, Armwood didn't slow down.
In its first drive of the second half, Laurent had a 26-yard reception, followed by a 20-yard run from McNeal and a 27-yard reception from Erin Collins. Brian Snead punched it in on a 2-yard run to give Armwood a 20-point lead. The Hawks' other two touchdowns came on a McNeal run from 18 yards and a 4-yard run from Jerome Ford.
In all, four players had scores for Armwood, which rushed for 275 yards as a team. The Hawks will play Cantonment Tate next week for a chance at their third straight state championship appearance.
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Explore all your optionsAnd if his offense can keep doing what it has all season long, Callahan said, he's not sure who will be able to stop it.
"We've always spread the ball around. We want you to defend No. 6, We want you to defend No. 21. We want you to defend No. 1, all the receivers," Callahan said.
"We think we're that good that we want to make you defend everybody."