By JEROME BOETTCHER
For the Brentwood Home Page
Nicholas Coffey saved his biggest play for last – and that was saying something.

On a night when the Brentwood High defensive end spent more time in the backfield than Blackman’s running backs, it was the senior’s big left hand that clinched victory on Friday.

Bruins Coach Ron Crawford celebrates win over Blackman with his team and fans. (Photos by Peg Fredi for BHP)

Coffey blocked Jacob Irvine’s 34-yard game-tying field goal attempt with 1:06 left as the Bruins held on for a 17-14 come-from-behind victory on senior night, all but locking up a playoff spot with one game left.

“I don’t think there is any other feeling in the world like that,” Coffey said of the block. “… It was awesome. I’m at a loss for words now.”

He didn’t need to say much – his play did the talking. The 6-foot, 200-pounder – slender for a defensive end – wreaked havoc on the Blaze all night. He finished with eight tackles, three for loss, including a 13-yard sack, a pass deflection that led directly to an interception and the blocked kick.

“Nick was being a beast all game,” linebacker Truett Harris said.

The Bruins (6-3) clung to a three-point lead when Blackman (6-3) got the ball at its 27-yard line with 4:59 left. The Blaze drove all the way to the 21-yard line and looked like they were in business on a 13-yard run by Dee Mathers. But that play was negated by a 10-yard holding penalty – only the fourth penalty of the night – pushing them back to the 30-yard line.

Still, the Blaze faced a makeable third-and-six at their 17 with 1:25 left. Quarterback Tyler Strickland tossed a pass to the left side but Harris made a great jump on it, smacking the ball to the ground for one of his three pass deflections.

Brentwood defensive end Nicholas Coffey blocked Blackman's attempt at a tying field goal.

That set up the field goal attempt. The ball didn’t get far as Coffey and Demetrics Brown, among others, quickly hovered around Irvine.

“I told [Brown] just to make sure we get up there and hit a guy, give him a little push,” Coffey said. “And we did, knocked him off balance and I was able to open up the seam and get my hand up and block the kick.”

Initially, the Bruins were penalized for roughing the kicker, even though they had successfully blocked the kick – which sent the BHS sideline into a panic.

But after the officials conferred, the flag was picked up and the ball was turned over to the Bruins.

“They righted it,” BHS coach Ron Crawford. “They corrected it and I’m proud that they did.”

It was the second straight defensive stand for the Bruins. On Blackman’s previous drive, the Blaze reached the BHS 33-yard line. But Coffey tackled Mathers for a two-yard loss and Strickland threw three straight incompletions, turning over the ball on downs. On third down, Colton Hill broke up a pass right at the first-down marker. Then on fourth-and-12, Harris tipped a pass that bounced off receiver Jalen Smith’s hands.

“I was just happy I could be a part of that play and be a part of the stop,” said Harris, who finished with eight tackles. “We had to keep our poise when they were moving down the field a little bit.”

The stop gave Brentwood the ball with 8:34 remaining, trailing 14-10. The drive appeared it was going to stall when on third-and six from the BHS 39-yard line running back Chudi Echetebu ran into a wall of defenders. But like he did on a 56-yard touchdown run against Gallatin last month, the senior spun out of multiple tackles and rumbled for a 30-yard gain.

Defensive back Aaron Maher returns an interception, which set up a field goal for a 10-7 Bruins lead.

Senior Austin Sanders picked up 14 yards on a sweep and two plays later he scored his second touchdown of the game – a 5-yarder on a counter play that give BHS a 17-14 lead with 5:09 to go.

“We were going all out,” Sanders said. “We wanted this one bad. I don’t think I ever wanted a game this much.”

It didn’t look good at the start when Strickland connected with Smith for a 35-yard touchdown pass less than 90 seconds into the game.

But the Bruins punched right back. Echetebu rushed for 64 yards on BHS’ opening drive, including a 51-yarder after he broke through Blackman’s interior defensive line and bounced to the outside to the 20-yard line. On a pitch, Sanders zipped to the inside of the near pylon in the end zone for a 3-yard touchdown run.

Echetebu finished with 132 yards on 15 carries and a banged up Sanders had 52 yards on seven rushes.

Brentwood got the ball right back after Coffey stampeded Strickland on the first play of the ensuing drive, hitting him as he threw. The ball fluttered in the air and right into the hands of defensive back Aaron Maher for an interception. He returned it 11 yards to the 14-yard line but the Bruins had to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Matt England for a 10-7 lead halfway through the first quarter.

Blackman regained the lead early in the second quarter on a 64-yard touchdown run by Mathers. The junior cut to the right side, found a hole and raced untouched down the sideline to the end zone, putting the Blaze on top 14-10 with 9:25 remaining in the first half.

It was a big night for the Class of 2012.

From there, the defense clamped down. The Blaze’s final five drives ended in a missed field goal, a punt, a punt that was deflected, a turnover on downs and a blocked field goal. While it took group effort to stave off Blackman, linebacker Adam Thetford led the way with a team-high 15 tackles and the punt deflection.

“Our kids just really, really battled,” Crawford said. “I’m so proud of our efforts and the heart we showed, the no back downs, the toughness we showed. I think we played heard from the get-go.”

Blackman, which has dropped two straight, was without one of the state’s top prospects, senior running back I’Tavius Mathers. The older brother of Dee Mathers, I’Tavius, an Ole Miss commit, watched from the sideline due to a toe injury.

“Obviously, elephant in the room, without [I’Tavius Mathers] they are not the same football team,” Crawford said. “We’ve had some injuries along the way. We’ve not been the same football team at times. Just like everybody else you throw your healthy guys out there every week. Next man in and you go to battle. You got to win sometimes without your best players.”

Since losing to Gallatin 31-24 on Sept. 23, the Bruins have won three straight, picking a good time to get on a roll as they travel to Franklin next week for their final regular-season game and District 11-AAA showdown. With the win on Friday, Brentwood should have all but assured itself a 6A postseason berth.

But a win next week wouldn’t hurt, perhaps improving their seeding and chances at hosting a playoff game.

“That Gallatin loss was hard,” Sanders said. “We thought we deserved it and we just didn’t play as good as we could have. I think that gave us some extra motivation… To be 7-3 that would be great, have a lot of momentum going into the playoffs. So I think next week is very key.”