By JEROME BOETTCHER
For Brentwood Home Page
THOMPSONS STATION – Special teams spotted Brentwood High a 10-point lead and the defense took it from there.

The Bruins survived a late scare to hold off second-seeded Independence for a 10-7 victory on Friday night in the opening round of the 6A playoffs.

BHS (7-4), the seventh seed in its quadrant, avenged a 13-7 September loss to the Eagles (8-3) and advance to the second round to play at Franklin. Last week, Brentwood lost its regular-season finale to Franklin, which edged Smyrna on Friday in double-overtime.

Brentwood celebrates first-round playoff victory over district champion Independence, 10-7. (Photos by Peg Fredi)

“These seniors went 2-7 as freshmen, now they have taken our team to a first-round victory,” BHS coach Ron Crawford said. “With the injuries we’ve had and the way we’ve had to coach this thing out, I’m extremely proud of them.”

Independence, the District 11-AAA champ, couldn’t sniff the end zone for more than three quarters. Until the Eagles’ final drive, they mustered just 79 yards and only three touchdowns – one coming off a pass interference penalty.

Independence, which had 11 penalties for 100 yards, including five off personal fouls, also had zero passing yards in the first half.

“They are always talking about how Independence defense is so good so we felt our defense had something to prove,” senior linebacker Truett Harris said. “We just went out there with a chip on our shoulder.”

Using just eight blitzes the entire game, Brentwood was plenty successful out of its base defense. The Eagles' two quarterbacks were constantly pestered by Brentwood’s defensive front as Nicholas Coffey led the way with four sacks.

Bruins defenders put pressure on Eagles QBs all night.

“We kept getting in the backfield, causing pressure,” senior linebacker Sam Mullaney said. “Every now and then you’ll get a three-and-out there. It gives our offense a better chance to score and better field position. I thought we fought hard on defense.”

The Eagles threw one final scare into Brentwood late in the fourth quarter. Independence marched 86 yards in less than three minutes, twice converting on fourth- and-longs. Chase Swayze capped it off with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Swayze, cutting the deficit to 10-7 with 1:31 left.

Harris squashed the comeback by recovering Independence’s onside kick and ran out the clock as BHS picked up its first playoff win since reaching the semifinals in 2009.

“He kicked it pretty high and it looked like it hung up there for a pretty good while,” Harris said. “I just had to jump up there and sacrifice myself to try to catch the ball.”

BHS defenders chase down Independence rusher.

The Bruins’ lone touchdown of the game came when Mullaney blocked a punt by Kentucky commit Landon Foster inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line. Hunter Anderson scooped up the loose ball and raced 15 yards to the end zone, giving BHS a 7-0 lead with 7:20 left in the first quarter.

“That was huge,” Mullaney said. “I got an open lane and I got back there. Our coach kept telling us all week just get after one. They have a good kicker and they had one blocked this year… I was lucky to get one.”

Added Crawford: “It was beautiful for us to see, believe me.”

Matt England missed two of three field goals but his 29-yarder with 7:24 remaining in the first half was the difference in the game.

Brentwood’s offense was dormant most of the game. Running back Chudi Echetebu had 25 carries for 97 yards and quarterback Austin Winfree rushed for 72 yards on 15 attempts. Still, the Bruins finished with just 198 yards and didn’t sniff the end zone that often despite winning the time of possession 29:47-19:13.

Nicholas Coffey celebrates sack against IHS.

But they had a chance to put away the Eagles early in the fourth quarter. With a 10-point lead, on third-and-1, Winfree faked a handoff and got around the edge, rushing more than 30 yards toward the end zone. But he was chased down from behind, fumbling the ball and giving IHS possession at the 5-yard line.

The Bruins’ defense stayed firm, forcing a three-and-out. Independence got the ball back with 4:16 remaining, setting up the dramatic finish.

BHS heads into its rematch with Franklin having won four of its last five games – the only loss coming to the Rebels.

“Anything can happen,” Harris said. “We’ve gotten better and better each week. We have a really good chance at [advancing in] the playoffs.”