When Hilton Head Christian Academy was on the ropes last week, the team’s senior leaders stepped up at halftime and delivered the message their teammates needed to hear.
It sparked a remarkable rally — 28 of the Eagles’ 35 consecutive points came after halftime — that sent HHCA into the SCISA 2A state championship game for the first time since 2013.
“Our guys are pretty resilient,” HHCA coach Ron Peduzzi said. “That’s our motto this year in our school: Be resilient.”
Peduzzi and the Eagles hope that senior leadership — and that resilience — carry over Saturday when they face Trinity-Byrnes Collegiate for the state title.
In fact, both teams have been resilient — and persistent.
HHCA dropped its opener to SCISA 1A finalist Thomas Heyward before reeling off 11 straight victories, while Trinity-Byrnes has rebounded to win 10 straight after losing its first two games against powerhouse opponents.
“Trinity-Byrnes is a great football team,” Peduzzi said. “Our kids know they’re a great football team. Everybody in the state knows they’re a great football team. Respect to our opponents, but our guys are going to come to play 48 minutes, and they’re gonna leave it all out there.”
As seems to be the case every week when the Eagles take the field, the matchup is an exercise in contrasts. HHCA spreads it out and relies almost exclusively on the passing game, while the Titans pound it on the ground with a pair of 1,000-yard rushers and two more players with at least 783 rushing yards. That quartet each has double-digit rushing touchdowns.
Trinity-Byrnes coach Jared Amell told the Florence Morning News the Titans won’t try to milk the clock and shorten the game, though — they’re prepared for a shootout.
“We feel like we have the most explosive team in the state,” Amell told the newspaper. “Obviously, (HHCA) is very good, offensively, too. But I don’t ever want to limit my offense’s touchdowns by slowing the game down. There will probably be a lot of points in the game, and there’s going to be a lot of plays run.”
The Eagles aren’t likely to shy away from a shootout, either. Senior quarterback Hayden Shinn has passed for 3,257 yards with 43 touchdowns and 10 interceptions and added a team-high 728 yards and nine TDs on the ground, and HHCA has four 500-yard receivers led by JP Peduzzi (57 catches, 1,040 yards, 17 TDs).
The Eagles’ recent history has been a perfect example of how quickly the high school football landscape can change. HHCA reached five consecutive state title games from 2009-13 — winning three — but hasn’t been back since.
Until now.
“We wanted to bring the program back where Tommy Lewis had it,” Ron Peduzzi said. “I coached against Tommy Lewis, and I always admired him and this program. We want to get the football program back to that.”
The Eagles’ last trip to the title game came in 2013, when they lost to Florence Christian in the first season after Lewis left for Florida. The win totals plummeted from there, bottoming out in a one-win campaign in 2016.
Matt Smith oversaw a transition year before handing the reins to Peduzzi, who in three years has restored the program to its former glory — or close to it.
“I’m not saying we’re there yet,” Peduzzi said, “but we have a winning culture again.”
They can take another step Saturday night.
