Tigers earn first title trip

For four weeks, the Wilson Tigers have capitalized on opponents’ mistakes and seemingly willed themselves into the Class 3A lower state championship Friday against Crestwood.

And with one Crestwood mistake and one last test of will, the Tigers now find themselves with one final destination: Columbia.

In the fourth quarter, a muffed kickoff return by Crestwood led to Wilson’s only lead of the game, and the Tigers’ defense made one last stand in the red zone for a 34-28 win over the Knights.

The Tigers (11-3) are headed to their first state championship in school history.

Wilson will play Chester next Saturday at 6 p.m.

“I’m speechless right now,” said Tigers coach Darryl Page said. “I’ve been waiting 15 years to experience this moment. It feels great, but there’s one more game left to go.”

Trailing 28-21 in the fourth quarter, Wilson quarterback Maliek McCall scrambled 26 yards to set Wilson up inside the Crestwood 25-yard line. Four plays later, another scramble tied the game at 28-28.

Then, much as it has all postseason, the Tigers benefited from another turnover. The ensuing kickoff was eventually fumbled by Crestwood and Wilson recovered. Two plays later, McCall hit Bivins Elliott in the end zone for his second touchdown catch.

“Go to No. 8,” McCall said. “That’s all I was thinking during that last touchdown pass. We found a way. We came back after being down and never quit. That’s been the attitude of this team all year.”

The point after was missed, but Crestwood was flagged for running into the kicker. On the retry, the snap was high and Wilson’s lead became 34-28.

Until this point in the fourth quarter, Crestwood had torched the Tigers’ run defense for almost 300 yards. Running backs Mike McMillan and Terrance Wilson each gained more than 100 yards during the contest.

In fact, the Tigers only stopped Crestwood from driving downfield twice before the final drive.

But they stopped them when it counted the most.

Behind Wilson and McMillan, the Knights drove down to the Wilson 15-yard line. The Tigers’ run defense stiffened and allowed just two yards rushing on the next three plays.

On fourth down, Crestwood attempted only its fourth pass of the night, and quarterback Treginald Wilson was pressured and threw incomplete to seal the win for the Tigers.

“Just like this team has done all season, they reached down a little bit deeper and found something to get us to Columbia,” Page said. “We said turnovers were going to be the difference, and fortunately, we got one when we needed it and took advantage of the opportunity.

“The defense stepped up tonight. They bent a lot of the night, but they made the plays when they had to.”

From the first quarter on, both offenses took control. Crestwood’s rushing attack grinded out three touchdowns in the first half, and the Knights didn’t punt the whole game.

Wilson, meanwhile, struck quickly. The Tigers ran four plays from scrimmage in the first quarter and scored on two of them. A late touchdown by Crestwood gave the Knights a 21-14 lead at the half.

Bivins caught five passes for 106 yards and two touchdowns. Richard Cue was 3-of-6 for 151 yards and a TD in the first half. McCall threw two touchdowns and ran for another.