NOTRE DAME HOLDS OFF GRACE CHRISTIAN
With 17 seconds remaining in the game, Grace Christian’s Luke Kirby spun his fourth touchdown pass of the night, trimming the Rams’ once three-possession deficit to a mere three points at Notre Dame.
The comeback was too late, however, and the No. 1-seeded Irish — led by two non-offensive touchdowns and a persistent running game — held on to down the Knoxville team 32-29 Friday in the second round of the Division II-AA playoffs.
The Irish’s winning streak reached 10 games.
“Tonight was all about the process we talk about all the time,” Notre Dame coach Charles Fant said. “We had to be patient and resilient. Through the final whistle, Grace Christian never quit or veered away from what they wanted to do, but we stuck to our game plan as well and found ourselves in the position to make more impact plays than them.”
The first game-breaking play of the night came in the second quarter for the Irish after a scoreless first for both teams. The Rams were forced to punt on the Irish’s 31-yard line, but the ball was blocked by Notre Dame and recovered in the end zone by Monroe
Beard III for an 8-0 lead after a Cameron Wynn two-point conversion.
Fireworks flew on the next two possessions. First, Grace’s Kirby passed to Jonah Duggins on a 30-yard connection for Kirby’s 26th touchdown pass of the season. After a failed twopoint conversion, Notre Dame’s Wynn took the ensuing kickoff 82 yards and pushed the Irish’s lead to nine, where it stayed until halftime.
Midway through the third quarter, the Irish lost a fumble in their own territory, but cornerback Justyn Baker picked up the slack by jumping in front of a Kirby pass and taking the ball more than 50 yards for a pick-six.
“Without those plays I don’t think we do enough to win the game tonight,” Fant said about the two non-offensive touchdowns. “Our special-teams unit always gets after it, and on defense we just found ourselves in the right place at the right time a lot.”
Late in the final quarter, the Rams were down 10 points with the ball and momentum inside Notre Dame territory. On first down Kirby dropped back, escaped pressure and threw his second interception of the night to Notre Dame’s senior corner Kolby McGowan. That ultimately pushed the game out of reach.
“We watched a lot of film from when we played them in the regular season, so we knew all the routes they like to run,” McGowan said. “The two interceptions came from me jumping the routes.”
The Rams received the ball one more time for the late score, but an onside kick fielded by the Irish clinched a right to host Christ Presbyterian Academy next week.
“We’re playing our best football at the best time right now,” Fant said. “All I ask is that we cut down on the penalties and extracurricular stuff. If that happens, I like our chances.”
Contact John Mitchell at sports@timesfreepress.com