According to Google Earth, the distance between the 50-yard lines of Brainerd's and Boyd Buchanan's football fields is 1,542 yards.
There may have been that many penalty yards in the Buccaneers' 31-0 road win Friday over their neighbor on Moore Road.
The Bucs and Brainerd combined for 23 penalties in their first meeting since 2016. The game was a defensive struggle early before the visitors got their running game going in the second half. Running back Jaylon Sanderfer sparked the Boyd Buchanan offense, rushing for three touchdowns.
"It was a sloppy game, but I've never seen that many penalties thrown in a game," Bucs coach Gary Rankin said. "We just had two last week, so I was kind of disappointed in that. I think the officials need to let the kids play, because there were too many flags thrown. I mean, you can throw a flag on every play if you want to."
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night's Chattanooga-area prep football games)
Rankin's team opened with a 52-0 win against Chattanooga Prep last week.
The Panthers, playing for the first time this season after their scheduled opener against Howard last Saturday was postponed, started strong defensively and held the Bucs scoreless in the first quarter. Both defenses played well early, forcing seven punts in the first two quarters.
The lone score of the first half came on the only sustained series by either team, a nine-play drive led by wildcat quarterback David Green and Sanderfer. The two players rushed the ball seven times on the second-quarter drive, with Sanderfer running on the last four plays and scoring on a 1-yard plunge at the 9:27 mark before halftime.
Brainerd looked like it would tie the game early in the third quarter after Jayun Smith took the second-half kickoff 85 yards to set up a short field, but the Boyd Buchanan defense pushed the Panthers back and forced them to turn the ball over on downs, ending the hosts' lone scoring threat of the game.
Sanderfer scored twice in the third quarter on runs of 8 and 32 yards to help the Bucs pull away. Asher Keck added a 29-yard rushing score, and Ethan Lane's 22-yard field goal with 4:20 remaining in the game capped the second-half surge.
"We bounced back in the second half," Rankin said. "In the first half, we weren't ready to play for whatever reason. Defensively, we were outstanding, and our defense has been outstanding for the past two weeks. But offensively, we're just not in rhythm."
Brainerd's first-year coach, Sammy Seamster, was pleased with his team's performance early, but he said the heat wore the Panthers down as the game continued.
"We came out strong in that first half, and I'm proud of them," he said. "We've just got to get them into condition. That's just the main thing on these hot days."
Despite an improved second half and his three-touchdown performance, Sanderfer said his team needs to improve on starting games strong if it wants to keep winning as the season progresses.
"We've got to work on coming in hot," the senior said. "It's been a recurring problem with us not coming into the game hot, but we definitely can't afford that next week. So that's something we have to work on in practice."
Contact Jim Tanner at sports@timesfreepress.com.