Phillips set a new standard of excellence for Public League football the past few years. Watching the Wildcats win a Class 4A and a Class 5A state title raised the goals and changed the mindset of every team in the city.
It would have been easy for Phillips coach Troy McAllister to keep the team in the smaller classes and continue to dominate with his SEC-quality recruits. But the Wildcats aren’t about standing still, so they petitioned up to play in Class 6A.
Talk from the team in the preseason was all about wanting to play the best, to keep raising the bar.
Phillips met its match on Saturday in Cary. Undefeated Cary-Grove knocked off the Wildcats 34-24 in the Class 6A state quarterfinals.
“It’s exactly what we asked for,” McAllister said. “You want your young men to compete at the highest level. They are the number one seed and we were right there with them.”
The Trojans (12-0) were able to contain Alabama recruit Jahleel Billingsley. He had eight carries for 14 yards and one touchdown and caught three passes for 77 yards and one touchdown.
“The field is sloppy and it got worse as the game went on,” McAllister said. “You get used to playing on turf and you come out here and it takes away some of the speed. No excuses, we knew how it was going to be.”
Phillips (9-3) pulled within 27-24 on Billingsley’s two-yard touchdown run with 9:18 to play.
On the next drive Cary-Grove ate up clock on an impressively gritty march down the field. Then the Trojans found a little magic. It came on a fake put on fourth down at the Phillips 35.
Quarterback Ben McDonald connected with Quinn Priester for a 25-yard completion and a first down.
“It was not the route that was called,” Priester said. “It was the route that was open. I’m just glad Ben picked up on it or I would have been in a lot of trouble.”
Blake Skol ran 10 yards for a touchdown on the next play to give the Trojans a ten-point lead.
“You can’t measure the size of a kid’s heart,” Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said. “They played hard and gritty and got things done against a super-talented team.”
McDonald was 4 for 7 for 51 yards and one touchdown. He had 19 carries for 75 yards. The other two weapons in the Trojans’ triple-option were just as effective.
McDonald to Priester, 6-yd TD pass. Cary-Grove leads Phillips 27-16 late 3Q. pic.twitter.com/7I2GDMhmXh
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) November 10, 2018
Senior Danny Daigle had nine carries for 115 yards and three touchdowns. His 10-yard touchdown run on a fourth down midway through the second quarter was a backbreaker. He also grabbed an interception.
Skol, a junior, picked up the tough small yardage. He had 21 carries for 116 yards and one touchdown.
“Daigle is a stud,” Seaburg said. “He just plays hard and just battles, like every kid on the team. I don’t think he ever came off the field. Blake rarely fumbles the ball. I felt pretty good giving him the ball in the second half.”
Phillips quarterback Leonard Smith was 8-of17 passing for 154 yards. He threw two interceptions. The second, picked off by Priester, came deep in the red zone near the very end of the first half.
Smith to Byron Lewis, 28-yd TD pass. Phillips leads Cary-Grove 16-14. Still 1Q. pic.twitter.com/fhETlvt16w
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) November 10, 2018
“We stopped them when we needed to,” Seaburg said. “Both teams are championship caliber teams. We were able to make a couple more plays than they were.”
The Trojans will face the Antioch-Notre Dame winner in the semifinals.
“It’s insane,” McDonald said. “It is something I’ve always dreamed of as a kid.”
