Brentwood headed to 6A quarterfinals after 23-14 upset of Franklin

By ANDREW SKWARA
For Brentwood Home Page
FRANKLIN – Brentwood is going to the state quarterfinals for the sixth time in school history, but none of its previous trips may have felt quite this sweet.

BHS ended the season of its biggest rival and exacted some revenge with a 23-14 upset of Franklin on the road on a chilly Friday night in the second round of the Class 6A state playoffs. The Bruins (8-4) suffered a 24-10 regular-season loss at Franklin (8-4) just two weeks ago.

After the final play, Brentwood's players and fans stormed the field, igniting a wild celebration. The Bruins (8-4) , which are a No. 7 seed, will now play at top seed and undefeated Mt. Juliet (12-0), which beat Siegel 31-27, next Friday night.

The Brentwood defense sacks Franklin QB Matt Kuivenen. One sack in the end zone led to a grounding call for a safety and a 16-14 Bruins lead. (Photos by Peg Fredi for BHP)

“We wanted to show that we were better than that,” said defensive end Nicholas Coffey, who sacked Franklin quarterback Matt Kuivinen in the end zone for a pivotal safety that put the Bruins up 16-14 in the fourth quarter. “They really whooped us last time. This was about redemption and it makes it 10 times better when you beat your rival.”

Longtime BHS coach Ron Crawford didn't mind being doused with ice water by his players in the final seconds despite temperatures that dipped into the low 40s.

 “It feels pretty daggum good to be honest with you,” Crawford said when asked about the victory shower. “Our kids wanted an opportunity to play this rivalry game again. They were ready to play, focused and I couldn't be prouder of our players or our coaches.”

Coffey's safety proved to be the turning point in the rematch. With the score tied at 14-14 and Franklin holding the ball at its own 3-yard line, Kuivinen dropped back to pass in his own end zone and was quickly flushed out of the pocket due to pressure up the middle. But, before Kuivinen could find daylight, Coffey got a hold of his lower body and wrestled his right knee to the ground a split second before he threw the ball into the turf.

That put the Bruins up 16-14 with 8:52 left.

 “I went inside first, but I saw the quarterback roll out and that he still had the ball,” Coffey said. “I knew I had him, because he had that look like, 'Oh my goodness, he's going to get me.' ”

Thanks to Franklin then being forced to kick off, the Bruins got the ball back, but appeared to be headed for a three-and-out possession. However, bruising fullback Chudi Echetebu plowed over defenders for a 21-yard gain on a third-and-20.

Three plays later, Jonathan Regan hauled in a lofty pass from Austin Winfree and motored down the left sideline untouched and into the end zone, putting the Bruins up 23-14 with 5:34 left.

On the Rebels' next two possessions, Kuivinen threw interceptions to Aaron Maher and Colton Hill, sealing the outcome.

Echetebu carried the Bruin offense by racking up 191 rushing yards on 26 carries. Mixing in that ground game with some well-timed passes helped make up for an offense that fumbled the ball away four times -- which was the exact same case in the first meeting with the Rebels.

 “When you got a horse you got to ride it,” Crawford said of Echetebu. "We found some good ways to get him some creases out of the shotgun. … Obviously, we have got to take those turnovers out of our repertoire to have a chance next week. Thank god, we get another week to work on it.”

After both teams traded fumbles to start the game, BHS called a fake reverse pass that worked to perfection. Quarterback Austin Winfree faked a pitch, spun around and fired up a bomb to a wide-open Jalen Marsalis, who reeled the ball in for a 40-yard touchdown pass. Marsalis, a freshman, had yet to make a touchdown catch this year.

 “We've been practicing that thing for 14 weeks now,” Crawford said of the play. “It was pretty exciting to see Jalen get his first varsity touchdown against Franklin in the second round of the playoffs.”

Late in the second quarter, Franklin tied the score at 7-7 on Colton Black's 2-yard touchdown run. The Rebels had a chance to go ahead, but a 41-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right on the last play of the second quarter.

Brentwood opened up the second half with a 67-yard drive that was capped with Winfree's 7-yard TD run to put the Bruins up 14-7. The Rebels answered on the next drive when Riley Manion hauled in a underthrown pass in the end zone for a 33-yard touchdown catch to knot the score at 14-14.

Franklin was hurt heavily by penalties as its offense was flagged 10 times for a total of 106 yards.