Story and photos by ANDREW DYRDAL
Brentwood Academy experienced a flurry of ups and downs on Friday to start its season against Olive Branch (Miss.), but settled in for a decisive 42-14 win.
On the opening drive, Eagles senior quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall connected with four different receivers and capped a one-minute drive with a 20-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Camron Johnson.
After forcing a punt on Olive Branch’s first possession, BA looked poised to repeat its opening drive’s success as Marcos Harris Jr. and Daniel Taylor each rattled off 8-yard runs to start the series. After an incomplete pass, Oatsvall and his receiver had a misconnection and the pass went directly to an Olive Branch defender, who ran it back for a touchdown to tie the game.
The Eagles stuck to the ground on the next possession, as Oatsvall and Tomario Pleasant combined for 35 yards on four plays to set up a second-and-9 from the Olive Branch 24-yard line. Oatsvall’s first pass of the series was again intercepted and the Conquistadors took advantage with a 63-yard run on the second play of the ensuing drive before fumbling at the 1-yard line.
“We had a few hiccups, and I think (Oatsvall) was pressing early but did some really good things,” BA coach Cody White said. “For us it’s going to be continuing to improve throughout the course of the year, and if we do that we’re going to be pretty good.”
The Eagles’ defense locked down after that possession, forcing six consecutive three-and-outs, which included a turnover-on-downs and Evan Beddoe returning an interception 36 yards for a touchdown.
“(Defense) was outstanding,” White said. “We didn’t let them score until it didn’t really matter and the seven points we gave them was on offense.”
While BA shut down Olive Branch on defense, its offense again picked up steam. Kicker Toby Wilson made 25- and 35-yard field goals to give the Eagles a 13-7 lead midway through the second quarter, and Pleasant scored on a 27-yard run to extend the lead to 20-7.
The Eagles received one final first half possession after forcing a punt and started at the opponent’s 49-yard line with 2:14 left in the half.
Gavin Schoenwald, who played multiple drives at quarterback and receiver, caught a 16-yard pass to open the drive and a 29-yard touchdown pass to cap it with 40 seconds left in the half, giving the Eagles a 27-7 lead at the break.
In the second half, the Eagles scored on a 14-yard touchdown run by Josh Smith and converted a two-point conversion. Beddoe’s interception return for a touchdown capped the Eagles’ scoring, and Olive Branch added a 1-yard touchdown run midway through the fourth quarter to make the final 42-14.
“We’re glad to get that first win under our belt,” Schoenwald said. “The first one, you never know what you’re going to get. It’s good to see us get the ‘W’ on our home field – we take that with pride – so I’m excited to get rolling.”
[scroller style=”sc1″ title=”Brentwood Academy Football” title_size=”17″ display=”cats” cats=”7146″ number_of_posts=”4″ speed=”300″]
