NASHVILLE - Ensworth suffered its first home football defeat in five years Friday, suffering a 27-20 setback to visiting Baylor School in both teams' Division II-AA East/Middle Region opener.
Following a sloppy start offensively, the Tigers (1-2), whose last home loss came to Montgomery Bell Academy on Sept. 3, 2010, overcame an early two-score deficit by notching a pair of scores in the final 2:29 of the first half.
Baylor buried them in the second half, though.
"I was proud of us fighting back," Ensworth coach Ricky Bowers said. "We just have to continue to get better. We got better in each of the first two weeks, and I think we got better tonight."
The Red Raiders (3-0), whose last win over Ensworth came during the 2011 regular season, regrouped and responded in the third quarter, reeling off a seven-play, 92-yard scoring drive that was capped with a 56-yard touchdown run by Ryan Parker.
"That was big," Baylor coach Phil Massey said. "After letting a 13-0 lead slip away late in the second half, that was big for us from a momentum standpoint."
After a pair of unproductive Ensworth possessions - first a quick three-and-out, then fumbling the snap on the Tigers' ensuing punt - Baylor added to its advantage with a 4-yard touchdown run by Parker, increasing its lead to 27-13 with 11:13 left in the fourth quarter.
Parker, who finished with 78 yards rushing on six carries, was responsible for three of his team's four touchdowns, but Baylor was far from a one-man show. Red Raiders quarterback Wil Austin completed 12 of 19 passes for 116 yards, including a 27-yard second-quarter touchdown throw to Gunnar Ricketts, and the senior transfer from Haywood County High School in Brownsville, Tenn., also ran 22 times for 89 yards.
"(Austin) did a great job of running our offense tonight," Massey said. "He's still learning our system, and he's only going to get better."
Ensworth quarterback Coleman Goodwin finished 14-for-25 through the air for 185 yards and a pair of first-half touchdown passes. However, the Tigers' ground game was virtually nonexistent, managing a meager 33 yards on 10 carries.
"(Goodwin) was competitive tonight, running for his life and making a bunch of good plays," Bowers said. "I'm proud of him. Darius (Morehead) and him both looked like they fought hard tonight."
Morehead ran for only 25 yards on 10 carries, but the 5-foot-8, 170-pounder also hauled in five receptions for a team-leading 70 yards. Ensworth defensive back Rodney Owens intercepted two passes.