BRENTWOOD
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Montgomery Bell Academy’s ice was a little colder Friday night.
A timeout just before halftime of the Big Red’s road matchup with Brentwood Academy didn’t faze Davis Luster on his second attempt of a 53-yard field goal, but Isaac Way’s 39-yarder with just over a minute remaining was short for the Eagles as MBA won 52-44.
“That’s the way it goes sometimes,” coach Marty Euverard said after his team held on for the win as Montgomery Owen intercepted Jeremiah Oatsvall’s pass in the end zone for the final play. “You take a chance with those timeouts. Davis came back and hit a big one for us.”
Luster’s initial attempt had been short, but the timeout gave him a second chance and he took advantage to give the Big Red (4-1, 1-1 DII-AA) a 24-14 lead with 22 seconds left in the half.
“We did it last week and the kid missed it,” Brentwood Academy coach Cody White said. “Nobody’s got a crystal ball. We wanted to let him think about it. We know he’s got the leg. It’s a credit to him.”
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The 10-point cushion — as were most leads throughout the night — was shortlived, as Oatsvall moved the Eagles (4-1, 1-1) 65 yards in two plays with the benefit of a horse-collar penalty after a 33-yard Shon Lumpkin run and a 17-yard scoring pass to Forrest Wright. Brentwood Academy trailed 24-21 at halftime, then went ahead on the opening possession of the second half on a 25-yard pass play from Oatsvall to Coutrell Plair.
But in a game that saw just three punts (a fourth attempt resulted in a safety on a bad MBA snap in the fourth quarter), stops were hard to come by for either defense. Ty Chandler’s 62-yard burst put the visitors back in front 31-28, and Cole Euverard’s 23-yard run with 3:06 left in the third quarter re-established that 10-point lead that Brentwood Academy never overcame.
“It’s heartbreaking, really,” Oatsvall said after throwing for 307 yards and four scores while rushing for another 91 yards. “Our offense started slowly, but we got in a groove. The defense played its hearts out, but one play at the end killed us.”
After Way’s miss left it 45-44 with 1:06 to go, Euverard converted a third-and-4 from his own 26 by going the distance on a naked bootleg. Brentwood Academy drove to the MBA 17 before Owen’s interception ended the game.
“We knew Brentwood Academy would put up a fight,” said the coach’s son. “We knew it wasn’t going to be easy. But we knew we could come in and do it.”
Euverard finished with 341 offensive yards and five touchdowns (four rushing), while Chandler rushed for 170 yards and two TDs on 17 carries.
