MBA football survives McCallie rally, beats three-time defending state champions

Payne Daniel had blood on his elbow Friday night. He ignored it.

He was too busy celebrating with friends and family.

Montgomery Bell Academy held off a late McCallie charge to beat the three-time defending Division II-AAA state champions 28-27 in a state semifinal at Tommy Owen Stadium after Daniel recovered the Blue Tornado's onside kick attempt after failing to score on a two-point pass attempt with 45 seconds left.

I was just thinking that we had to get the ball," said Daniel, who came up with the onside kick after it bounced off a teammate. Daniel escaped with the ball, running it to the MBA sideline and jumping up into the arms of a teammate.

"The ball came fast and I tried to block someone for my teammate behind me. The ball just popped up in front of me."

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McCallie (10-3) scored on Jay St. Hilaire's touchdown strike to Andrei Delinois on fourth down. The Blue Tornado chose to go for two and the win. But MBA's Morgan Holzapfel broke up St. Hilaire's pass attempt.

"It's a little pick play, similar to the LSU-Alabama play," MBA coach Marty Euverard said. "Everyone runs it. Morgan Holzapfel read it, got his hand on it, and knocked it down."

MBA (12-0) plays Baylor (10-2) on Dec. 1 at Finley Stadium in Chattanooga in the Division II-AAA championship game. Baylor defeated Brentwood Academy 44-39 in their semifinal when Baylor stopped the Eagles (9-3) at the 1-yard line with no time remaining.

For the Big Red, it marks their third state championship game appearance in four years. MBA lost to McCallie in 2019 and 2021. MUS beat MBA in the state semifinals in 2020.

"This means a lot," said MBA senior Marcel Reed, an Ole Miss quarterback commitment. "We've got another Chattanooga school to face. This (senior) class we have is unbelievable. They have a lot of heart. I'm just excited to see what this team will do at state."

Reed, a four-year starter at quarterback, was 14-of-25 passing for 218 yards with four TDs and an interception. He also had 99 rushing yards on 11 carries.

"We knew they were going to try and bring a lot, so we spaced it out," Reed said. "We had a couple mismatches and took advantage of that."

Reach Tom Kreager at 615-259-8089 or tkreager@tennessean.com and on Twitter @Kreager.

iq George had a huge smile.