Heathwood Hall’s Morgan Whalen tries to catch a pass between Hammond defenders Jordan Kay and Hunter George. Photo by Jim Marczesky In the end, Heathwood Hall dug itself one too many postseason holes— even if their last one came on an artificial turf field.

“Right now, its tough, but I m sure in a week or so we’ll look back and realize what a great season we had,” Heathwood Hall head coach Rip Blackstone said.

The Highlanders came up one win short of the state championship and undefeated season they coveted, losing to Hammond 50–20 in the SCISA Class 3A final at Charlie Johnson Stadium on Nov. 20.

“These three playoff games were unbelievable,” Walker Sojourner said. “Going into this year, we had only about 25 players, other teams we played had 30, 40 or more. We had guys going both ways, and they played unbelievably well. Just getting to this game was an accomplishment.”

Heathwood Hall quarterback Mac Whalen tries to escape the Hammond defense. Photo by Jim Marczesky How they got to their first state final since 2004 was also noteworthy. Half of the Highlanders’ 12 wins came by 7 or fewer points.

“We stuck together the whole year as a group of 26 people,” Whalen said. “We never gave up.”

In both playoff games, Heathwood fell behind in the first half only to storm back. The Highlanders beat Porter Gaud 28–26 and Laurence Manning 35–28.

“In those games, Porter Gaud and Laurence Manning played really well against us,” Blackstone said. “We did get into holes, but we climbed out of it and showed a lot of grit and character.”

Those characteristics weren’t enough after falling behind by 14 in the first quarter to Hammond, which had posted 35–13 (Pinewood Prep) and 20–7 (Wilson Hall) victories in the playoffs.

The Heathwood Hall offense never hit its stride, slowed by senior quarterback Mac Whalen’s turf trouble early and Hammond’s defensive pressure throughout. The Highlanders finished with 205 yards of offense.

Whalen lost his footing three times in the first 14 minutes of play, leading to big losses each time and contributing to the Highlanders’ season–low 19 yards rushing as a team (19 attempts).

“I don’t know what it was,” Whalen said of his grip trouble on the visibly wet surface. “I changed shoes at halftime – more cleats, fatter cleats – to give me more clutch to the ground.”

Whalen needed the grip. He faced far more defensive pressure from up the middle than in the teams’ first encounter, which played havoc with the Highlanders’ offensive game plan.

“We were trying to work the middle of the field,” Whalen said of the strategy of working underneath routes that had worked repeatedly in the teams’ October game. “We just didn’t have enough time, or I couldn’t get comfortable back there.”

The uncomfortable end was a rarity: Whalen finished the season with 1,119 yards rushing and 2,316 passing – a performance that drew a firm embrace from the opposing coach, Erik Kimrey, during the postgame handshakes.

“He told me I was a great athlete and that I should keep my head up high for my performance and my accomplishments,’ Whalen said.