Sycamore’s Mason Austin picked off two Jo Byrns’ passes including a pick-6 and recovered a fumble to lead the War Eagles to a 20-12 win on Friday night.
Austin wasn’t the only standout player of the evening for Sycamore. Senior Logan Garrett recovered a blocked punt and returned it to the one-yard line. Garrett would end that Sycamore drive with a rushing touchdown on the following play.
Garrett’s touchdown was Sycamore’s first score but the War Eagles had more in store for the first half. Mason Austin’s pick-6 would come halfway through the second quarter for the War Eagles and they would add one more score late in the second quarter when Brandon Pennington found senior Rhett Hunt for a touchdown.
Sycamore’s defense was lethal and efficient and held up well except for two touchdown passes from Jo Byrns’ Taylor Head, both of which came in the second half.
Head found Antwaun Lucas to finish off the Red Devils’ first drive of the second half and Jo Byrns’ comeback attempt was on. The touchdown was a well-thrown 24-yard pass to Lucas’ back shoulder. Lucas caught the pass and tip-toed into the end zone to give Jo Byrns its first score.
The Red Devils would pull to within one score when Head found Reed Blumel in the end zone for a 22-yard touchdown. Jo Byrns went for two points on both touchdowns and failed each time.
Sycamore got its cleats in the ground and held Jo Byrns scoreless for the remainder of the game. After Blumel’s touchdown, there was just 4:31 left on the clock.
Sycamore’s Reece Hapner finished off the game with some powerful runs in the waning moments of the second half to put away the Red Devils.
“I can’t say enough about these guys, they’re awesome,” Sycamore coach John Harrison said as he received a very cold Gatorade bath. “Last year was a struggle and it was a process. Everybody had to buy-in and play like a team and they did it. Look at the crowd, man. Sycamore is back to doing what it’s supposed to be doing. I’m very proud, extremely proud.”
With the win, Sycamore officially finishes the regular season and turns its attention to the playoffs. Sycamore will meet Smith County next Friday. Smith County pulled off an upset over East Nashville to take the top spot in its region.
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