Shaw is really, truly back, and the most familiar face is what brought them there.
After leading Archbishop Shaw to a lot of success including a state championship in 1987 before leaving for another school, Hank Tierney is back and has once again brought Shaw that elusive state championship which was over 30 years in the making. Shaw defeated E.D. White 28-25 in the Division II Select State Championship Game, and just like the journey to get here, the game was quite turbulent for the Eagles throughout.
The first quarter was all E.D. White. They dominated in the trenches on both sides of the ball, outgaining Shaw 106-12. The Shaw offense looked discombobulated and couldn’t get anything going with a slow start, and E.D. White was rolling. They continued to show they were one of the most consistent offenses in the state this season with yet another long touchdown drive to open the game, an 8 play 89 yard journey finished by Grant Barbera. Barbera had a good day, finishing 12/17 for 133 passing, and 16 for 40 and a TD rushing. He won outstanding player for E.D. White.
E.D. White wanted to separate with another good drive as the first quarter ended, but the 2nd quarter saw a massive shift in momentum. It started with the end of the drive, as Shaw finally stopped the menacing Cardinals rushing attack, but E.D. White was still in field goal range. They looked to take a commanding 10-0 lead, but the field goal was blocked, giving Shaw new life in the game.
Shaw didn’t let the chance slip, as they drove down the field after the blocked punt and scored a touchdown to tie the game. Mason Wilson led the way, with star RB Michigan commit Jasper Parker getting his as well. Wilson capped it off with a big 21 yard touchdown run and Shaw was right back in the game after staring down the barrel of a two possession deficit.
E.D. White got the lead back with yet another long and slow touchdown drive to make it 14-7, and they were looking to maintain a lead going into halftime. However, Mason Wilson and Shaw’s other Michigan commit, Jacob Washington, both had something to say about that. With just 7 seconds left, Wilson found a wide open Washington down the sideline, who bobbled the ball but eventually caught it for the game-changing walk in touchdown. Washington won outstanding player of the game. That gave us our halftime score of 14-14.
After a scoreless 3rd quarter, the feeling grew that just one or two plays would swing the game completely in the 4th. We saw this, as after another solid E.D. White drive led to a field goal, Shaw answered with their biggest star finally shining. Jasper Parker broke loose for the first time in the game as Shaw took their first lead. He ran 62 yards down the sideline to give Shaw a 21-17 lead early in the 4th.
E.D. White had a chance to respond, but then we saw the play that defined the state championship. A fumble on the option pitch was recovered by Shaw and gave them a short field, and Shaw took advantage. Jacob Washington scored, giving Shaw that crucial 2 score lead late. They went up 28-17 with 7 minutes left in the game. The game completely turned in a matter of minutes, from E.D. White leading to having a 2-score hole in less than 2 minutes of game time.
E.D. White had the heart of a champion and fought back, driving down and converting crucial 4th downs to keep the game alive. They finished it off with one last 4th down conversion for the score, a huge effort from Jonathon Lee. To make it a field goal difference, Benjamin Guidry made the 2pt conversion and E.D. White was now just down 28-25 with 4 minutes left.
Up 3 with 4 minutes remaining, Shaw won the state championship with one last game sealing drive. Jasper Parker led the way with one last explosive run, and Shaw didn’t let E.D. White touch the ball again.
This moment is a long, long time coming for everyone at Archbishop Shaw. It’s their first state championship in 37 years, and marks the high point for one of the greats in Shaw’s history, Hank Tierney. After coming up just short so many times in the 2000s, he returned and finally brought Shaw back to the promise land.
As for E.D. White, it’s a bitter defeat in a game they probably feel they could have had, but it is still a great season for everybody on that team and in that community as they finish as state runners up.
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