All Woodruff needed was a field goal to go to the state championship.

Inside the 10-yard line in the final two minutes Friday night at Varner Stadium, the Wolverines ran the clock and ran the ball to the middle of the field for kicker Taylor Green, who had already made a pair from further away.

Then on third down, running back Shun Tribble went for the edge instead.

Tribble picked up a block from wide receiver Stacey McMahan on the left corner and slipped into the end zone with 1:01 remaining to give Woodruff a 41-34 win against Strom Thurmond in a battle of unbeatens for the upper state title.

"It took just about every second," Woodruff head coach Brian Lane said. "That's a heck of a ball team over there. They were undefeated. We were undefeated. We thought it was going to come down to the very last minute and it did."

Woodruff, which has been this far three times in four years, advanced to the 2A state championship for the first time since 1993. The Wolverines will face Timberland at 8:30 p.m. Friday at Benedict College in Columbia.
"It's been our goal all season to get there," said Lane, who paused to hear the announcement that Timberland had beaten Dillon in the other state semifinal. "We've got a big challenge ahead of us against Timberland. It's a great opportunity. We hope to go down there and play well."

Woodruff senior quarterback Ryan Perkins threw for 408 yards and three touchdowns, completing 36 of 53 passes. The Wolverines relied on Perkins with the running game struggling — until the final drive, at least.
When the Wolverines forced Strom Thurmond to punt and got possession with only 3:15 remaining, leading rusher Tribble had just 29 yards on 13 carries. But on third-and-7 from the Rebels' 39, he ran for 16 yards. Then he ran for nine more to get inside the 10. The touchdown was his second of the day. He had a 1-yarder in the third quarter.

Tribble was actually more effective as a pass-catcher, with eight grabs for 61 yards. Perkins' favorite target, however, was Blake Bone. He made 13 catches for 176 yards and a touchdown. Cyd Wedman, meanwhile, had seven for 103. Perkins' other TD was a 7-yarder to Mason Sanders.

Woodruff fell behind, 14-3, in the first quarter, but the offense got going from there and built a 34-27 lead early in the second half. Four straight possessions came up empty, however, before the Wolverines had one more chance in the closing minutes.

"I could see in everybody's eyes that they wanted it more than anything in the world," Perkins said. "I knew we were going to give it all we had to execute the plays. I'm just so proud of this team and the coaches. It's an amazing feeling."

Woodruff took its first lead and padded it in the second quarter on a methodical 14-play drive followed by a quick strike. The Wolverines marched from their own 22, facing third down only once, and Perkins threw the short TD to Sanders.

Strom Thurmond fumbled the kickoff and Woodruff took advantage in one play, a 14-yard TD pass to Tribble. On the next possession, Green made his second field goal, a 32-yarder for a 27-14 lead. The Rebels cut it to 27-20 by halftime on what amounted to a 37-yard quarterback sneak by Raleigh Yeldell on fourth-and-1. They tied it on their first possession of the second half, Yeldell finding Ty Brooks for a 16-yard TD.

Both teams tried and failed to surprise the other with onside kicks, Strom Thurmond to open the game and Woodruff to open the second half. The Wolverines turned their good fortune into three points when the drive from midfield stalled at the 2. The Rebels turned theirs into seven points, needing to go only 42 yards after the kick by Woodruff failed to go the necessary 10 yards.