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After Calvary Day suffered a rare regular-season loss on Aug. 30, the Cavaliers responded with a great week of highly motivated practice, coach Mark Stroud said.

That didn’t bode well for Southeast Bulloch, which took the brunt of Calvary Day’s frustration on Friday night in a 40-6 Cavaliers home victory.

“We just had to bounce back from the last game,” Calvary Day sophomore quarterback James Mobley said. “It just made us stronger.”

The Cavaliers lost a week earlier 16-15 to host Oceanside Collegiate Academy of Mount Pleasant, S.C. The game, played in Charleston, turned on an Oceanside field goal in the final minute and a CDS missed kick as time expired, according to reports.

The last time Calvary lost a regular-season game was to Savannah Christian on Oct. 30, 2020. Since then, the program went 12-1 in 2021, 11-1 in 2022 and 13-1 last season in making runs deep into the GHSA playoffs.

“It’s been a little while since some of these guys have lost a regular-season game,” Stroud said. “It was a good wake-up call for us. We can’t be satisfied with tonight. We’ve got to keep working hard and trying to improve.”

Calvary (2-1, 2-0 Region 3-3A) handled business from the start against previously unbeaten Southeast Bulloch (2-1, 1-1 region), which started the season with victories over Statesboro (23-18) and Islands (43-7).

On the opening drive, the Cavaliers had two running plays before a quick pass to Thomas Blackshear on the left sideline. He quickly covered 49 yards to the Yellow Jackets’ 15. Mobley took in it from there, and Blake Williams kicked the extra point for 7-0 with 10:01 left in the first quarter.

Southeast Bulloch fumbled on its second play from scrimmage in the wet conditions but recovered the ball. The highlight of the drive was Clay Williams’ great punt which rolled all the way to the CDS 3. 

That only made Calvary’s next drive more impressive. After Edward “Doopah” Coleman rushed for 14 and then 5 yards, Mobley again looked for a quick outlet to Blackshear, this time on a screen pass near the right sideline. The Georgia commit accounted for nearly all of the 78 yards after the catch, sprinting up the sideline before cutting to the middle of the field and outracing the defense for a touchdown. 

Blackshear credited teammates Marlon Knight and Coleman for making blocks and allowing him to do what he does in making the defense look flat-footed.

“It was over with,” the senior said. “That speed kills.”

The Cavaliers took advantage of another Yellow Jackets fumble recovered by linebacker Brody Dawson. On the next play, Ca’Den Jones broke a couple of leg tackles and ran 17 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 20-0 with 3:55 left in the first quarter.

It could have been more when sophomore Emerson Lewis grabbed SEB quarterback Rhett Morgan’s overthrown pass and worked his way into the end zone for an apparent pick-6. However, an illegal block on the return took away the score but not the interception with 2:00 remaining in the first quarter.

Mobley and Blackshear weren’t done. A quick pass to the left sideline left Blackshear enough space to elude a tackler, not step out of the boundary and sprint 71 yards to the end zone with 7:19 remaining in the second quarter. Grady Shiver’s extra point made it a 27-0 advantage.

Mobley said he uses his pre-snap reads of the defense, then it’s “seeing the match-ups and giving my wide receivers a chance to make plays.”

Blackshear finished the game with three catches for 198 yards and two touchdowns – all in the first half.

Dawson recovered another fumble on SEB’s next play from scrimmage, and Calvary converted the turnover into Shiver’s 37-yard field goal with 6:08 left before halftime.

Shiver’s 18-yard kick on the final play of the first half pushed Calvary to a 33-0 advantage.

Mobley was 6 of 8 for 226 yards in the first half and finished the game 10 of 12 for 267 yards, including a 25-yard TD pass to Coleman, another dangerous playmaker, in the fourth quarter.

“Coach (Jason) Cameron is our offensive coordinator,” Stroud said. “It’s a great credit to him and the offensive staff. They do a good job of getting the ball in space to guys who can make plays.”

Plays were made on the defensive side as well as the Cavaliers were pitching a shutout up 40-0 when the game went to a running clock in the fourth quarter. That left the Yellow Jackets enough time to put together their lone scoring drive, culminated by Morgan’s 3-yard TD toss to Greg Peden in the final minute.

“I’m proud of my team. I’m proud of the way we came out, defense and offense,” Calvary senior defensive lineman Walter “Buddy” Mathis said. “It’s a statement from last week.

“I felt like last week, we just weren’t ourselves. Last week, we kind of underestimated (Oceanside). We went in there with our heads up high. We got smacked in the mouth. We came back this week showing teams who we are and making people remember what type of program we are.”

It was certainly a memorable day for the defense, and Mathis in particular. The highly-recruited prospect verbally committed to LSU earlier in the day. The 6-foot-2, 288-pound Mathis said LSU, Clemson, Auburn and Miami were finalists. 

Defensive line coach Bo Davis, an LSU alumnus who came back to Baton Rouge from the University of Texas in January, had recruited Mathis while at each school.

“He wanted me to know that he wanted me to be part of the (LSU) program,” Mathis said. “I’d be a difference maker for them. I took a couple of visits around the country, and I just felt like LSU was the place I was meant to be.”

CALVARY DAY 40, SOUTHEAST BULLOCH 6
	1	2	3	4	F
SEB	0	0	0	6	6
CDS	20	13	0	7	40
First Quarter
CDS—James Mobley 15 run (Blake Williams kick)
CDS—Thomas Blackshear 78 pass from Mobley (kick failed)
CDS—Ca’Den Jones 17 run (Williams kick)
Second Quarter
CDS—Blackshear 71 pass from Mobley (Grady Shiver kick)
CDS—Shiver 37 FG
CDS—Shiver 18 FG
Fourth quarter
CDS—Edward “Doopah” Coleman 25 pass from Mobley (Williams kick)
SEB—Greg Peden 3 pass from Rhett Morgan (kick failed)
RECORDS: CDS (2-1, 2-0 Region 3-3A), SEB (2-1, 1-1 Region 3-3A)

 

FINAL SCORES

 

WEEK 4

Sept. 5, Thursday

Long County 38, Groves 6

Savannah Christian 44, Oceanside Collegiate 20

Beach 22, Windsor Forest 21 (OT)

 

Sept. 6, Friday

Richmond Hill 47, New Hampstead 28

Glynn Academy 57, Bradwell 12*

Brunswick 42, Effingham County 20*

Calvary Day 40, SE Bulloch 6*

Johnson 14, Islands at 8*

Jenkins 28, Liberty County 12*

Savannah Country Day 44, Bluffton 6

Bryan County 28, Savannah High 0*

Briarwood 46, St. Andrew's 12

Westwood 46, Memorial Day 6*

Bethesda 12, John Paul II 3

Coastal Homeschool 44, Palmetto Christian Academy 30

 

PHOTO CREDIT: Courtesy Calvary Day School  cavalier_sports Instagram page

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Optim Orthopedics generously sponsors Prep Sports Report football coverage! 

Optim Orthopedics is a familiar face on Savannah's prep sports scene, extending their support from the gridiron to the court. Their dedication to local athletes goes beyond logos, offering crucial medical support to nine powerhouse high schools:

• Dr. Don Aaron: Bryan County Middle/High School
• Dr. David Sedory: Benedictine Military, Bradwell Institute, Liberty County
• Dr. David Palmer: Calvary Day, Richmond Hill, South Effingham
• Dr. Thomas Alexander: Savannah Country Day, St. Vincent's

As Southeast leaders in fellowship-trained orthopedic surgery, Optim Orthopedics proudly sponsors the Prep Sports Report. Remember, Optim Orthopedics gets you back into the game!