BHS, RHS travel to Nashville schools as warm-up to Battle of Woods

By CAROL STUART
For Brentwood Home Page

Brentwood Academy will try to build on an impressive road victory over Division II-AA region rival MBA with Friday’s home game against Stratford, but the weather didn’t do any area high school football teams any favors during the holiday week.

BA (2-1) will go for its third straight win over a Nashville opponent by hosting the District 10-AA Spartans (2-1) at 7:30 p.m., while Brentwood High and Ravenwood will also play Metro-Nashville public schools. BHS (1-2) travels to 12-AAA’s winless Hunters Lane (0-3), and RHS (1-1) visits Cane Ridge (1-2), both with 7 p.m. kickoffs.

BA running back D'Montre Wade hurdles for yardage in last week's victory over MBA. (Photo by Renee Yarbrough)

“It’s been a difficult week because of the weather and Labor Day, so we had to practice Monday morning and we couldn’t do a whole lot because of the rain,” and the team practiced in the gym Tuesday, Brentwood Academy Coach Ralph Potter said. “So we haven’t had a whole lot of practice this week.”

“… There’s nothing we can do about, so there’s no point fretting about it. You just have to do the best you can.”

With a lopsided opening loss against nationally ranked Louisville (Ky.) Trinity, BA is scoring 28 points a game and giving up 21.7 on average. Stratford has averaged 23.3 points a contest and yielded an average of 20.7.

Last week the Spartans trailed Pearl-Cohn only 14-7 at halftime after blocking a punt to set up Laquan Horton's 12-yard touchdown pass to Tyler Wilson. But Stratford gave up 20 unanswered points in the third quarter to lose 34-7.

“They have a lot of speed, that’s the one thing that really stands out,” Potter said. “They won the state track meet last spring, and a lot of those guys are still out there playing.”

BA already defeated one 10-AA Metro-Nashville team, but their schemes are different and Potter said Stratford probably has a little more team speed while Maplewood had one really fast back.

The Eagles, meanwhile, have been putting things together on offense, with D’Montre Wade (163 yards, 3 TDs last week) stepping up at running back along with Jalen Ramsey.  Junior quarterback Max Staver (9 of 15, 158 yards, 2 TDs vs. MBA) is playing better than expected at this point, and the O-line is starting to gel, Potter said.

“We're getting better than we were a couple of weeks ago,” the BA coach said. “The clarity that we got after the Trinity game I think has had an impact on that. I think our offensive line, we're finally settling on who's going to be where, and I think that helps. They’re coming off the ball a little bit better than they were.”

Freshman Jackson Pittman has played three different positions over the three-week season, but now is lined up at right tackle and had a good game against MBA, Potter said. Major-college commitments Graham Shuler (Stanford) and Woody Baron (Virginia Tech) anchor the line at left tackle and guard, respectively, while Will Fitts is locked in at center and Tyler Atkins at right guard.

Sophomore defensive back Rashaan Gaulden came up with two big turnovers against MBA and brings a different intensity to the game than most high school players, Potter said. And Corien Owens has helped lead the defensive surge at noseguard.

“There's going to come a point where we’re really going to have to really buckle down and win one with our defense …,” Potter said. “And I think we're moving in that direction.”

Brentwood High (1-2) at Hunters Lane (0-3), 7 p.m.

The Bruins are coming off two disappointing defeats after opening the season on a winning note. BHS is giving up only 16 points a game but is averaging scoring just 11.7. The last two games, the Bruins have lost to perennial state contender Smyrna 28-7 and to District 11-AAA co-leader Independence 14-7. 

 “Again it came down to a few plays one way or the other, on both sides of the ball,” BHS Coach Ron Crawford said. “It’s a team game, and we’ve got to play better team football. When we only score 7, we can't give up but 6.”

Junior QB Austin Winfree huddles up Bruins offense last week. (Photo by Jerome Boettcher)

Host Hunters Lane is still seeking its first victory after losing 33-29 last week to Cane Ridge, ironically Ravenwood’s opponent on the road Friday. The Warriors have averaged giving up 34.7 points per game while scoring only at a 12-point pace.

“They’re very athletic, spread offense, trying to get the ball to some athletes out in space, leaving the ball in their quarterback’s hands quite a bit. He’s an athlete, a good runner and has shown poise in the pocket at times," Crawford said.

“Defensively they’re pretty chaotic, a variety of fronts and bringing folks from different angles, probably playing to their strengths is what they do best, and utilizing their team speed.”

BHS also didn’t get much work outside due to the rain this week. The team worked in the gym Monday morning and then went to another indoor facility after the school closed early Tuesday due to a faulty transformer.

Crawford said the team was still able to get a lot of things done, including working on the run offense and run defense, going through formation recognition, and practicing pass protection schemes and kick protection.

“What we can’t do is obviously kick it or catch it, and we can’t work much passing game or pass defense. We’re limited there, but I don’t think there’s indoor at Hunters Lane so I think they’re pretty limited as well,” Crawford said.

Wide receiver-defensive back Kyle Burke is doubtful and WR-DB Colton Hill is questionable, with both week to week. And wideout Andy Schumpert could be out for the season.

Brentwood’s turnovers have been devastating in the two losses, and the Bruins are trying to keep moving forward.

“We’ve got no choice. Tough times don't last, tough people do – it’s an old, old cliche but it’s one that’s pretty appropriate right now. Nothing is bad as it seems, nothing is as good as it ever seems," Crawford said.

“We’re just trying to fight through it and understand we've been own worst enemy for two weeks in a row. For us to have an opportunity, we’ve got to cut down on mistakes ... We need some confidence right now. We need to get back to expecting to win, instead of hoping to win.” 

Ravenwood (1-1) at Cane Ridge (1-2), 7 p.m.

Coming off their first win under new coach Joe Rietveld, the Raptors will try to keep the momentum going with a road trip to nearby Cane Ridge before visiting BHS in the Sept. 16 Battle of the Woods.

“The win definitely helped, there’s no question about that, just because you can see the rewards for some of your hard work,” Rietveld said. “Sometimes we all work in our jobs real hard, and sometimes we don't get rewarded for that, and sometimes the kids don’t really understand that. I think they gained some confidence in what they were doing and they were able to go out and execute it.”

QB Andrew Radford gets good protection from Ravenwood offensive line. (Photo by Peg Fredi)

The weather and Labor Day also affected Ravenwood’s practice time, forcing the team to simplify the game plan, the RHS coach said.

While Ravenwood evened its record with the district-opening win over Hillsboro, Cane Ridge also got its first win of the season, 33-29 over winless Hunters Lane. Dewayne Shaw ran for 153 yards and three touchdowns for the Ravens.

“They're a very talented football team and they’re big,” Rietveld said. “Their fullback and their tailback are big, and they’re going to come right at you. And you’ve got to be able to defend a power run game.

“And then, defensively, they're going to be pretty physical up front and they’ve got some speed in the secondary  that we’re going to have to try and combat with some precise routes and get rid of the ball quickly.”

Ravenwood, meanwhile, got its offense going with 89 yards rusgubg from Omar Joseph and 61 from Ryan Butler. First-time starting quarterback Andrew Radford was 12 of 17 for 120 yards passing.

“We were able to establish some type of running game last week,” Rietveld said. “For any high school football team to be successful you’re going to have to be able to do that. We did not establish any run game in Week 1, but we were able to do it in Week 2. That’ll be a key for us all year long.”

Rietveld credited the line’s blocking as well as the backs making some plays, plus having success against a more familiar defense than with BGA’s.

Likewise, he was happy with the defensive pressure and attack. However, he hopes to solidify the kicking game with the team’s outstanding placekickers and punter.

“We were opportunistic, we got that fumble recovery and our kids were in the right spot," Rietveld said. "We’re understanding how all the pieces to the defensive puzzle fit together. If one guys hits with the wrong arm or sticks his nose in where it doesn’t belong, then it just messes everything up and has a domino effect.

“I think our kids are finally understanding they’re not going to make the play on every play so sometimes it’s their job to make somebody else have the play.”