Al Thompson catches a spectacular 38 yard pass over two McCallie defenders.

By PIERCE GREENBERG
For Brentwood Home Page
a week after allowing a single player to amass more than 400 yards, the Brentwood Academy defense turned in a dominating performance in a 35-7 win over McCallie.

"Kids are probably a lot more resilient than we adults. I think it was harder for me to get over (the loss to Ensworth) than

Head Coach Ralph Potter shares his thoughts following the McCallie game.

D'Montre Wade runs over McCallie defenders for another Eagle first down.

BA offensive line gets in position for a 1 yard D'Montre Wade touchdown.

Eagle quarterback Max Staver takes it into the end zone for another six points.

BA Seniors Victor Bush and Zach Spires lead the Eagles onto the field.

Jalen Ramsey, #7 eludes McCallie defenders for the first down.

anybody," BA head coach Ralph Potter said. "I was proud of how our kids came out. They prepared well. "

In the first half, the Blue Tornados earned their first down in the second quarter, and failed to maintain a drive longer than two minutes. BA forced McCallie to go three-and-out four times in their first six possessions.

Meanwhile, the offense was sharp, too. BA quarterback Max Staver contributed three first half touchdowns - a 46-yard run, a 4-yard run, and a 9-yard pass to senior receiver Al Thompson as time expired in the first half.

"(Last week), we thought we were sliding a little bit," senior linebacker Connor Lundsford said. "But tonight we really came out strong, and came out intense. That was our goal."

In the second half, the Eagles cooled off as second-teamers played most of the fourth quarter. Junior Jalen Ramsey scored on an 8-yard touchdown with 1:55 left in the game, before a BA fumble led to McCallie's only score with less than 30 seconds left in the game.

Despite the big win, Brentwood Academy will finish the season 8-2 as the No. 3 seed from II-AA East/Middle.

Even though BA, Ensworth, and Baylor all finished the season 6-1 in division play, the tie breaker is based on overall win-loss record. Ensworth and Baylor both finished 9-1, meaning BA was automatically relegated to the No. 3 slot.

Baylor beat Ensworth 42-14 earlier in the season, giving Baylor the No. 1 seed.

BA will host Pope John Paul II next week at 7 p.m. to open the postseason.

"Whatever team we play, we're going to beat them… that's the mentality we have to have," Lundsford said. "We've got to focus on the team we play each week."

BA beat JPII 55-6 earlier in the year.

"Anytime you go to the playoffs, it's a new season. We're going to try to improve," Potter said. "The team that wins this thing is going to be the one that improves between now and early December."

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