With an eye to the future, Chattanooga Christian scheduled Division II-AAA football powers McCallie and Baylor this season. The Chargers, in their first season competing in the private school league, know they could eventually join D-II's highest classification and wanted to gauge how far the program is from being competitive at that level.
Friday night against Baylor, CCS coach Mark Mariakis said he saw a measure of improvement - particularly in the first half - but added he's glad his team now can turn its focus to its own league games after a 42-8 home loss to the Red Raiders.
"I thought we made progress, especially offensively," Mariakis said. "We have to make stops on defense and we have to finish drives, but we moved the ball.
"It was good for our program, and we've got so many young kids playing, to see how much work we have to do to get where we want to be."
Baylor scored on its first two possessions - junior quarterback Lorenzo White scrambling free from a rush and dodging several tacklers on his way for a 44-yard touchdown run, followed by a 49-yard scoring sprint by Mike Benning.
The Chargers (4-2) then mounted a drive that reached the Red Raiders' 40 but fumbled, and Jaylon Baker scooped it and scored on the final play of the first quarter, putting the game away. CCS answered with a 12-play drive - eight carries by junior fullback Mondo Ellison - before being stopped.
Ellison carried the ball on 18 of CCS's first 21 snaps and ended the first half with 23 carries for 130 yards. He did not return in the second half, with Baylor leading 35-0 and the mercy rule in effect.
Benning added two other TDs and finished with 96 yards on just six carries. Brendon Harris added 90 yards on three carries for the Red Raiders and also had a 28-yard TD catch.
"Coach (Phil Massey) told us to take the game serious and play up to our potential, and I think we came out and did that. We took care of business from the start," Benning said.
Both teams will now finish out the season against league foes, Baylor traveling to two-time defending D-II state champion Brentwood Academy next week.
"We got out without any injuries and our offense looked sharp," Massey said. "We have to be able to tackle better, but the Ellison kid is a very good runner. He runs hard and is very talented."
CCS, which ran 31 more offensive plays than Baylor, got on the board midway through the fourth quarter with a safety and added a 48-yard scoring pass on the final play of the game - freshman Sam Hall connecting with sophomore Nathan Connor.
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.