Nationally ranked Brentwood Academy football rolls past Catholic

Mike Blackerby
For USA TODAY Network - Tennessee

Nationally ranked Brentwood Academy lived up to its billing and then some Friday night in a convincing 50-14 win at Catholic.

The Eagles, two-time defending Division II-AA champions and the prohibitive favorite in DII-AAA this season, scored 27 consecutive points in the second and third quarters to break open a 7-7 game after the first quarter.

Junior running back Tomario Pleasant sparked the win as Brentwood Academy improved to 5-0 against the Division I Irish (3-3).

Pleasant, who did most of his damage in the first half before going to the bench in the third quarter, rushed for 120 yards on 16 carries and scored on runs of 2 and 9 yards.

“He’s a good player — a solid, tough hard-nosed kid,” said Brentwood Academy coach Cody White, whose Eagles are ranked No. 9 in the nation by USA Today.

Brentwood Academy quarterback Gavin Schoenwald prepares to snap the ball against Knoxville Catholic on Friday, Sept. 22, 2017.

For Catholic, the loss ended a tough six-game run to open the season that featured games against three teams that rank with the best in their respective states. The Irish have also lost to powerhouses Maryville and Eagle’s Landing (Ga.) Christian Academy.

“The season starts Sunday,” said Catholic coach Steve Matthews.

“We’ve just been through a brutal six-game stretch and two of them we really took on the chin. Three of the next four games are region games. I just want to continue to see us getting better as a program, and I think games like this will help us. That’s an outstanding team we just played. I don’t think we’re going to have this feeling again.”

The Irish hung with the Eagles for a quarter before things took a turn for the worse.

Pleasant tallied on a 2-yard run to open the scoring, but Catholic answered with a 9-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jack Sompayrac to wide receiver Cam Blakely with 2:24 to play in the first quarter.

The Eagles took charge from there, scoring 17 unanswered second-quarter points.

Toby Wilson booted a 20-yard field goal. He later added kicks of 40 and 33 yards.

Pleasant scored from 9 yards out and Michael Archie hauled in a backbreaking 25-yard TD toss from quarterback Gavin Schoenwald with 59 seconds to play in the first half.

“Our defense kind of settled in, and our offense hadn’t seen (Catholic) run that defense all year,” said White.

Schoenwald added a 45-yard scoring strike to Camron Johnson less than a minute into the third quarter to push the margin to 31-7.

Schoenwald (10-for-14 passing, 121 yards) and Johnson (four catches, 66 yards) are both Vanderbilt commitments.

The Eagles held Catholic’s high-powered offense to just 186 total yards.

The Irish still had hope when Joe Fluker’s 10-yard run with 4:16 to play in the third quarter cut the deficit to 34-14, but Kenyon Garlington returned the ensuing kickoff 93 yards to settle the issue.

Mike Blackerby is a freelance contributor