ST. MATTHEWS, S.C. – When the smoke finally cleared after a combined 132 points had been scored, the Wardlaw Academy Patriots celebrated capturing the school’s fifth football state championship behind an offense with plenty of explosive power to spare.

Senior quarterback Stephen Balentine was simply amazing in his final prep outing, accounting for 11 total scores – 10 passing and one rushing – while the Wardlaw Academy defense did just enough, especially on two-point conversions, as the Patriots outscored the Patrick Henry Academy Patriots in a breathtaking 78-54 offensive display in the SCISA Eight-man football final Friday night.

The victory caps the second consecutive unbeaten championship season for Wardlaw (11-0) and extends the team’s current winning streak to 23 straight games.

Patrick Henry ends the season at 7-6 overall.

“I don’t know what happened out there tonight (about the high scoring),” said first-year Wardlaw head coach Chalmers Carr. “We came in with a no-huddle offense we had been working on and they couldn’t stop us. We executed very well. Defensively, we couldn’t stop them. That number nine (Patrick Henry’s Austin Rowell) was something else. He was running all over the place. Defending the two-point conversions was key for us though. We went five-for-five on the first five I think and we got some stops on them.”

Balentine completed 22 passes for 453 yards and 10 touchdowns through the air while also rushing for 142 yards and another score on the ground. Patrick Henry was led by Rowell, the team’s junior running back who rushed for 387 yards and four touchdowns on 37 carries.

Balentine said he never would have thought the game – the two teams played a very competitive 38-28 game during the regular season – could have devolved into such a scoring-fest, but that he was just glad to have been on the winning side.

“Not that bad,” he added of his night’s work on offense. “I never really thought we would score that many points, but we had some good plays called and the receivers were catching the ball. It just feels good to win.”

It didn’t take long for both offenses to set the tone for the night it would be.

Wardlaw took the opening possession of the game straight down the field before Balentine found a wide open Baylor Hanley streaking ahead of his defender for a 28-yard score at the 10:41 mark of the opening quarter. Patrick Henry responded on the ground with a 25-yard run by Rowell and the scoreboard began to heat up.

Five possessions in the opening quarter – five touchdowns.

Wardlaw took a 24-12 lead late in the first after Hanley caught another bomb from Balentine, this time good for 44 yards, and Balentine found Evan Bell for the two-point conversion. The Wardlaw defense finally stepped up and got a stop, sacking PHA quarterback Grant Youmans for a big loss. Youmans was called for intentional grounding on the play and the ensuing punt sailed over the outstretched arms of the punter, settling around the 10. Wardlaw quickly took advantage as Balentine found a wide open Andrew Medlock for touchdown number four on the night to extend the lead to 30-12.

Still, as the fired up PHA crowd kept chanting “we don’t quit” their players demonstrated that same resolve on the field behind the lead blocking of fullback Tucker Swofford and the speed of Rowell, time and again cutting into the Wardlaw lead.

But the Patriots from Johnston (PHA’s mascot is also the Patriots) simply had too much offense to spare, and each time Patrick Henry threatened to make the game close again Balentine simply went to the air again for another long score.

Patrick Henry cut the lead to 18 points with 10:59 to go in the ballgame, but Wardlaw quickly placed two more scores on the board on a 69-yard pass from Balentine to Hanley and a 22-yarder from Balentine to Harrision Courtney to seal the victory.

Hanley led the Wardlaw receiving corp with 195 yards and four touchdowns on six catches, while Harrison Courtney caught eight passes for 144 yards and three scores. Versatile threat Jordan Faust totaled 121 yards of offense (94 receiving and 27 rushing).