Edna Karr Advances To Their Fifth Straight State Championship

Edna Karr ended Neville's 11-year, 28-game home playoff winning streak in a 40-21 win on Friday night at Bill Ruple Stadium.

The Cougars fell behind early 21-7 in the first quarter, but they would remain poised & show why they are considered arguably the best high school football program in the state the last five years. The reigning state champions would score 27 unanswered points in front of a standing room only crowd.

Neville senior quarterback Andrew Brister threw for 281 yards & 3 touchdowns which were all in the first quarter. Karr quarterback Leonard Kelly continues to show why he is just as good as any quarterback in the state regardless of class finishing with 304 yards passing & 5 touchdowns (3 passing & 2 rushing). And although the Cougar offense turned the ball over four times they still managed to accumulate 497 yards of total offense.

It was evident that Neville came out ready to play, but Karr’s resiliency was just too much for the Tigers. The defense from the Cougars was magnificent after the first quarter keeping the Tigers out of the end zone & creating three turnovers. Louisville commit Jamie Vance played a big role in that by picking off Brister twice in the second half. Linebacker Torey Morgan got in on the action stripping Neville running back Max Hunter & cornerback Jamie Vance was there to recover it.

It seems like no matter how tall the task is, the Cougars always find a way to rise to the occasion on the biggest stage. “We played a really tough non-district schedule this season & I think it prepared us for games like this,” Karr head coach Brice Brown said. “When the brackets came out we knew we would meet back up with Neville. They’ve been waiting to get us down here & we were ready for the challenge.”

Edna Karr will face arch rival Warren Easton for the second consecutive year this Saturday at 3:30 for the 4A state championship. “We know they’ll be seeking revenge on Saturday but it’s not about them it’s about us,” Brown said. “As long as we take care of all three phases we should put ourselves in a good position to hold that trophy up again.”