Carter Triplett rushed for 231 yards and passed for 135 more as Christian Heritage fended off Pepperell 21-14 Friday night.
Christian Heritage (2-1) broke a 14-14 tie in the second half to slay the Dragons (0-3) in its final non-region test.
“It’s awesome when we can make people defend both,” Christian Heritage coach Frank Barden said of Triplett’s dual-threat ability in a postgame radio interview. “His legs are a weapon, and he has the ability to throw the ball. Those guys made great catches.”
Christian Heritage opened the scoring with an 11-yard Thailan Christopher rushing touchdown with 52 seconds left in the first quarter.
Pepperell struck back with a 17-yard touchdown to knot the game at seven early in the second.
That’s where the score stayed through halftime, but Triplett got on the board for a passing touchdown, hitting Dontae Crowder for a 37-yard touchdown with 8:43 left in the second.
Again, Pepperell hit back with a quick response.
A 39-yard TD pass with 5:41 left made the score 14-14.
A long Triplett run set Christian Heritage up with first and goal, but the Lions were backed up, and then a bad snap doomed a field goal attempt.
The next time the Lions got within scoring range, Triplett plunged in for the 3-yard, go-ahead touchdown with 9:11 to go.
The Lion defense kept the Dragons off the board the rest of the way.
“The defense played really well to hold that team to 14,” Barden said.
Charlie Idom caught six passes for 77 yards for Christian Heritage, and Christopher helped out Triplett in the run game with 25 yards.
Christian Heritage is idle next week. The Lions will host Dade County on Sept. 13 to start their Region 7-A DI schedule.