“This took me by surprise and I’m sure they’re surprised,” BHS coach Ron Crawford said. “We were able to get off to such a great start and it snowballed from there.”
Behind a punishing triple-option offense, the Bruins accounted for 269 of their 356 rushing yards in the first half, comfortably leading 38-0 at the break. Brentwood never punted and scored on six of their first seven drives, finishing with 402 yards of total offense.
The Bruins (3-2, 1-1 11-AAA) picked up their third straight win over the Raptors, who have lost five of the last six meetings. It was the first time Ravenwood had been shut out in the series and was its worst loss since losing 45-6 in 2003 – the first year the teams met.
“This will take a little bit of time to get over – that’s for sure,” said Rietveld, whose team fell to 2-2 and 1-1 in district play. “They executed their game plan to perfection from the very onset of the game. They put their foot on the gas and never let up… I knew we would have to play our best game in order to be competitive with them.”
Less than three minutes into the game, a 40-yard touchdown run by Jonathan Regan capped off the Bruins’ seven-play, 84-yard opening drive. Regan took a pitch from quarterback Austin Winfree, turned the outside corner and zoomed untouched into the end zone. Winfree set up the score one play earlier, scampering for 29 yards on a third-and-eight.
Austin Sanders’ first touch of the game hinted at things to come. Ravenwood was forced to punt on its opening drive and booted it right to Sanders. The 6-foot, 195-pound senior made the first defender miss and cut inside and then back outside, dancing his way to a 70-yard touchdown for a 14-0 lead.
“I actually didn’t feel them letting down,” Sanders said of Ravenwood. “They were still hitting us in the mouth. We just kept pushing. We were not going to stop.”
Sanders picked up 39 yards on three carries on the Bruins’ next series, culminating in a 12-yard touchdown for a 21-0 lead with nine seconds left in the first quarter. He finished with four carries for 54 yards and the two touchdowns.
For Sanders, it was his most productive night of the season and perhaps his career. After moving up to varsity as a sophomore, he suffered a back injury and missed six games last year.
“To see him come back and – knock on wood – to be healthy has been just a real blessing I think for him, his family and our football team,” Crawford said. “He showed what he is capable of tonight.”
The Bruins’ lone mistake came on their first offensive play of the second quarter. Scrambling, Winfree forced a pass that was intercepted by safety Grant Jones. The Raptors, however, failed to capitalize. On fourth-and-1 at Brentwood’s 37-yard line, quarterback Andrew Radford was knocked back by a bevy of Bruins’ tacklers. Linebacker Sam Mullaney led the charge, forcing a turnover on downs.
Winfree made up for his interception, hooking up with Regan for a 25-yard gain. But starting running back Chudi Echetebu did most of the damage on the drive, rushing for 37 yards on four attempts. With help from the offensive line, he burrowed his way to a four-yard touchdown.
The Bruins found the end zone once more before halftime. Winfree scored from two yards out, extending the cushion to 35-0 with 24 seconds left in the half.
But BHS wasn’t finished. Ravenwood fumbled the kickoff return and Brentwood’s Patrick McGrory pounced on the ball with 21 seconds remaining. That gave the Bruins enough time to set up Matt England for a 38-yard field goal – his first of two – that split the uprights with two seconds to go.
By the second drive of third quarter, Crawford had pulled his first-team offense off the field. The unit did its job together as the Bruins didn’t have a 100-yard rusher. Echetebu paced the team with 86 yards and Winfree finished with 78.
“Our biggest thing is we executed,” Regan said. “Every day in practice we work, we work, we work to execute it because it is a very complex offense.”
The Bruins have now won two in a row by a combined score of 89-0 after dropping two straight to Smyrna and Independence.
“We are a lot more confident but we have a long way to go,” Regan said. “We have five more games and then the playoffs so we’re not too confident. But we feel great right now.”
But Crawford said Brentwood needs to stay realistic about the competition they have routed, especially with a stiff road matchup at Gallatin next week.
“Our confidence level should be up… but we know where we are going next week and we know we have a lot of work left to do at the end of the year,” Crawford. “I think we are just going to enjoy this one for tonight and see what Gallatin brings us next week.”
The Raptors, on the other hand, saw their brief two-game losing streak end. They’ll try to rebound with back-to-back home games against Siegel and Franklin.
“I have confidence in our kids and their attitudes,” Rietveld said. “They’ll regroup and they will be stronger. I sure hope we come to work on Monday and get better for next Friday.
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