Bruins can't keep up with Smyrna, Thompson

By CAROL STUART
For Brentwood Home Page
Brentwood High's football team didn't turn the corner against Smyrna, losing 28-7 in its home-opener Friday night. But Coach Ron Crawford was happy with the effort the Bruins gave -- unlike last season's lopsided playoff loss to the Bulldogs.

"They've got a good football team. I knew it last week when I saw them against BGA -- BGA's got a good football team. I think before this thing's over, we're going to be a good football team," Crawford said.

"I love these kids, they fought like crazy, now we've got to go to work and help them not make mistakes. That starts at the top, starts with me, and I take my job very seriously and I love my kids. And we're going to be a better football team next Friday night."

BHS recovers a fumble at the goal line. (Photos by Peg Fredi)

BHS fans get dressed up for home-opener.

Junior QB Austin Winfree huddles up with Bruins offense.

Highlight video by Ryan Coll, Brentwood High School TV Pro student for BHP

BHS, which couldn't match Smyrna's speed, dug a hole with two turnovers that helped push Smyrna ahead 21-7 late in the third quarter. The Bruins then had a critical unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that helped the final scoring drive after turning the ball over on downs.

Brentwood (1-1), which begins district action next week against visiting Independence, started off the game by marching 78 yards on 11 plays to score on an Austin Winfree 12-yard pass to Andy Schumpert. Winfree, a junior making his second start, was 3-for-3 passing on the drive including a 19-yard third-down connection with Austin Sanders.

But the jubilation was short-lived, with Smyrna's Demario Thompson bursting loose down the right side 80 yards on a screen pass from Joe Shelton on the Bulldogs' first play from scrimmage. It was the first of three TDs for Thompson.

"I think just bottom line, it's their speed," Crawford said. "Their skill kids matched up against ours -- speed  was certainly a factor. We didn't gang-tackle enough, we got a hand on him, slid out of tackles and some of our mistakes obviously put us in some bad situations. ... We just can't compete with a team like that in this case."

Although Brentwood forced SHS into 3-and-out the next two drives, Winfree was intercepted 7 1/2 minutes before halftime.  Smyrna got the ball at midfield and then converted on a fourth-and-short before Thompson scampered 28 yards for the 14-7 lead.

"It wasn't all their speed, it was just us making little mistakes," Bruins linebacker Truett Harris said. "You take those away, and it would have been a whole different ballgame. We're just going to try to correct those this week and come back next week."

In the opening third-quarter drive, which started with a BHS and then two SHS penalties, Brentwood forced Smyrna to punt with Nicholas Coffey making two tackles for loss and Jacob Poag leading another minus-4 play.

The Bruins got lucky when a muffed fair catch on the punt left them backed up to the 1-yard-line, but Smyrna was flagged on the play and had to re-kick. But after now getting to start on its own 32, Brentwood fumbled on the very next play.

Three plays later, Thompson scored his third TD of the night, from 22 yards out, for the two-touchdown lead.

"It was a matter of time -- too many opportunities," Crawford said. "The first half went by our script, man, they had 14 plays.

"We're giving up blocks on the first (TD). The second one basically we blew the defense, we didn't have the right call in, and that gives them 14-7. We felt good at halftime. ... The turnovers in the second half just killed us, giving them the ball, plus field position. The field position game, we never could swing it back and we really struggled mightily in the second half."

Still, BHS refused to give up. Although a 13-yard pass put Smyrna at first-and-goal, Brentwood's Jake Driver recovered a fumble at the Bruins 1.

Crawford even played it Les Miles gambling style on the ensuing drive with Winfree keeping on the option for a first down on fourth-and-inches at the Bruins' own 10. Winfree actually gained 6 yards on the play but the drive stalled at the 39 when BHS didn't convert another fourth down.

"We went for it on fourth-down on our own 12, that's probably crazy," Crawford admitted. "We were trying to send a message to our young men that we're in this thing. We felt like we had to go for it, take the ball down and really score quick. We felt like we needed to make a statement at that point."

Instead Smyrna took it back down for a 19-yard TD toss from Shelton to Deterious Johnson for a 28-7 lead with 6:55 left in the game. The drive was aided by the unsportsmanlike penalty.

"I thought our effort was really, really good," Crawford said. "I never thought we had to ask for it here, and we found ourself in that position. Now I think we understand that. We're not going to ask it anymore; we expect it. Now we've got to go to work and clear up some mistakes."

The Bulldogs almost added another score when an interception in the end zone at the 5 1/2-minute mark was returned 100 yards. But the TD was called back for a Smyrna block in the back as Winfree tried to defend on the play.

Despite begin so far behind, BHS had almost made it across the goal line before that last pickoff. The late drive started with a Winfree 43-yard hookup with Kyle Burke, and Crawford said the passing game did look better.

 "I thought Coach (Dan) Winfree did a great job of mixing plays and keeping them off-balance a little bit," the BHS coach said.

"We threw it enough, 10 times in the first half. We had to (because) they were just loading the box on us. Austin executed and we got a touchdown out of the thing. (There were) a couple of big plays, a great catch by Austin Sanders to keep the drive alive."

Smyrna 28, Brentwood 7

First quarter
BHS -- Andy Schumpert 12 pass from Austin Winfree. Matt England kick. 7:01
SHS -- Demario Thompson 80 pass from Joe Shelton. Marshall Burkett kick. 6:44
Second quarter
SHS -- Thompson 28 run. Burkett kick. 5:02
Third quarter
SHS -- Thompson 22 run. Burkett kick. 4:04
Fourth quarter
SHS -- Deterious Johnson 19 pass from Shelton. Burkett kick. 6:55

Team Stats

Passing: Winfree 8-18-2-135
Rushing: Etchetebu 16-77, Winfree 13-56; Austin Sanders  8-48; Jake Driver 2-15, John Buntin 1-(-9), Michael Plisco 1-(-1), Austin Wells 1-(-3)
Receiving: Kyle Burke 2-58, Truett Harris 1-17, Sanders 3-33, Schumpert 1-12, Echetebu 1-15
Lost fumble: Winfree
Punts: Ryan Ault 3-27.3-39
Punt returns: J.B. Calton 1-14, Sanders 1-6
Kickoff returns: Isaac Martinez 1-5, Aaron Martinez 1-18
Tackles: Adam Thetford 8, Nicholas Coffey 7, Harris 5, Jacob Poag 4, Demetrics Brown 4, Carson O'Neal 3, Burke 3, S. Mullaney 3, Calton 2, Sanders 2, Jake Driver 2, Winfree 1, D. Meehan 1, A. Martinez 1    
Fumble recovery: Driver

Smyrna individual stats

Passing: Shelton 9-12-0-200
Rushing: Thompson 8-79, Shelton 8-38, L. Williams 5-37, Johnson 2-0, others 4-(-1)
Receiving: Thompson 2-109, W. Jones 2-51, Johnson 1-19, B. Hathaway 1-11, others 2-10
Punting: Burkett 4-104