Against Gainesville, just a week ago, Armwood trailed late. The Hawks NEEDED a big stop from their defense late. The defense stepped up, got them the turnover they needed and Armwood moved on.

The Hawks made sure they wouldn’t need a last second willful effort by its defense. Armwood will make their second consecutive trip to Orlando after they defeated the Bartram trial Bears 46-38 in the 6A state semifinals.

Turnovers were the key to the Hawks soaring to victory as they intercepted Tennessee-bound Nathan Peterman four times and recovered a fumble. Garian Brown, Kyle Gibson, Leon McQuay and Jarvis McCall all intercepted Peterman passes. Oklahoma-bound Eric Striker sacked Peterman, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by Keionne Baines who took it back 44 yards for the score.

The Bears scored first as they kicked a 23-yard field goal to get things started. The Hawks would answer though and answer often.

Stats:

Armwood-

Wade Edwards: 21 carries for 240 yards, 3 TD | Edwards was by far the best player on the field in this game. He saw the ball a lot and made his touches count. With Matt Jones missing the entire second half, Edwards was the feature back and looked the part.

Alvin Bailey: 8 carries for 146 yards and 2 TD | Bailey didn’t pass much, and he wasn’t called on to do so. Armwood’s gameplan coming in was to found the ball against a team with a small defensive line and the Hawks did that.

Bartram Trail-

Nathan Peterman: 20-for-36 for 373 yards 3TD and 4INT | Peterman is a big, strong quarterback with a strong arm. He made a few mistakes, as evidenced by his four interceptions, but those really don’t do the Tennessee commit justice. His first interception was a very slightly under-thrown fade route and Garian Brown just out jumped the Bears’ WR. Another ball was tipped by his own receiver and fell right into the lap of Leon McQuay. Peterman also flashed some speed as he rushed seven times for 56 yards, including a TD.

Follow Kyle on Twitter @KyleBennettUT