Calvary’s Grace wins coveted LHSAA state title ring

Unlike the remainder of the Calvary senior class, linebacker Hutch Grace didn’t have an LHSAA state championship football ring entering Saturday’s LHSAA championship game in the Caesar’s Superdome.

That’s because the standout tackler and Ouachita Baptist commitment, was a freshman at Evangel in 2020 when the Cavaliers won their last title in Natchitoches against Ouachita Christian during the Covid year.

Grace picked up a baseball championship ring two years ago, and thanks to an amazing comeback by the Cavaliers that will go down in the legends of LHSAA championship football, he and his fellow seniors will be receiving one in the coming months.

The Cavaliers came out on the positive side of a fourth-down measurement with less than a minute remaining and made it count for a 34-28 victory over St. Charles in the Select Division III state championship Saturday evening. Calvary quarterback Abram Wardell found Kolby Thomas for a 20-yard score after the Comets were stopped on fourth down with 44 seconds remaining.

The Cavaliers (14-0) are now 4-0 title games after defeating the two-time defending champion Comets (13-1) to complete a perfect season.

“What a comeback, huh?” asked an obviously elated Calvary coach Rodney Guin. “When we started in August, we’ve never had a bad day in practice, never had a bad game and never had a bad day at school. We do a lot of things the right way and we reaped the benefits of it tonight.”

It was Calvary’s fourth trip to the championship game with the Cavs winning in 2013 and 2014 in the Superdome with John Bachman as head coach. It was Guin’s first game coaching in the Superdome after more than 25 years of coaching.

“We won the championship in 2020 at Northwestern and I’ve already told people it doesn’t matter where you play,” Guin said. “But this is different. Whomever says that, is wrong, cause this is different.”

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The Cavaliers had their chances early, but never gained lead or tied the game until the closing seconds. They relied on the legs of James Simon, one of Louisiana’s most highly recruited 2025 athletes, and the junior responded with 174 yards and TDs on runs of 1, 3 and 25 yards to earn MVP honors. They also got a TD pass from Wardell to Aubrey Hermes late in the fourth quarter.

In the first half, the Cavs gave up a couple of chunk scoring plays to the Comets, but still should have gone into the break down just 14-13. But a Wardell interception with 47 seconds remaining allowed the Comets to go in front 21-13 after a 14-yard TD pass.

It was the fifth straight season for St. Charles to advance to the title game and they’re now 2-3 in the premier postseason event for high school football I the state.

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Grace has been a three-year starter for the Cavaliers after his family moved into the Calvary district following his freshman season on Broadacres Ave. The move was made because Justin Grace, Hutch’s father, needed to be close to his mother to assist in taking care of her. She has since passed on.

Jimmy Watson covers Louisiana sports for the USA TODAY Network. Email him at jwatson@shreveporttimes.com and follow him on Twitter @JimmyWatson6.