BRENTWOOD — Midway through the second quarter of Friday’s game at Carlton Flatt Field, private school powers Montgomery Bell Academy and host Brentwood Academy appeared headed for a thrilling finish.
However, as the final 3-1/2 quarters of Brentwood Academy’s 48-14 victory showed, things aren’t always as they appear.
MBA was ranked No. 1 in The Tennessean Midstate top 10, and Brentwood Academy was No. 2.
“We know what we’re capable of,” Brentwood Academy junior quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall said. “It wasn’t really a big surprise to us, it just feels good to know that all that hard work we’ve put in pays off.”
Oatsvall had 425 yards from scrimmage — 253 of which came on 20-of-25 passing — and the 6-foot-1, 188-pounder scored on touchdown runs of 8, 21, 1, 57 and 2 yards.
He also fired a 37-yard second-quarter touchdown pass.
Facing a three-point deficit midway through the second quarter, MBA (7-1, 3-1 DII-AA East/Middle), which hadn’t lost in more than a year, was on the move with a chance to tie things or take its first lead of the game.
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However, the Big Red’s 12-play, 60-yard drive came to screeching halt thanks to a Camron Johnson interception, and the Eagles (6-1, 4-0) never looked back, reeling of 28 unanswered points in 10:52.
“Honestly I think that changed the whole game,” Oatsvall added. “We had turned it over on a fumble, and they got the ball 10-7 with an opportunity to take the lead. We came back with the interception and that really changed the momentum and got us going.”
“We were driving and, shoot, I made a bad call,” MBA coach Marty Euverard said. “I shouldn’t have called that play, and it turned the momentum around.”
On the ensuing possession, Oatsvall led the Eagles on a five-play, 66-yard scoring drive, capping it with a 21-yard touchdown run to put his team in front 17-7 with 4:34 left in the first half.
MBA managed just a single score the rest of the way — an 80-yard, fourth-quarter touchdown run from junior running back Ty Chandler, bringing the Big Red to within 41-14 with 10:11 to play.
“We did not play like our usual selves,” Euverard said. “We made too many mistakes and they’re a really good football team. Give them a lot of credit. They made a lot of plays, blocked us well, and we didn’t really do a good job of anything.”
Chandler finished with 189 yards rushing on 24 carries for the Big Red, who were outgained by the Eagles 557-314. Quarterback Glenn Coleman completed 8-of-17 pass attempts for 104 yards and touchdown.
“We just have to learn from this loss; guys have got to show some character and we’ve got to bounce back,” Euverard added. “There’s a lot of football to play.”
Reach Michael Murphy at 615-478-2481 and on Twitter @Murph_TNsports.