By CAMDEN JOINER Photos by ANDY COLLIGNON
The Baylor Red Raiders (4-1) had outscored their opponents 137-20 entering Friday’s matchup at Brentwood Academy (4-1), but the Eagles’ defense wasn’t intimidated.
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The game was between two of the top teams in Division II-AA, but the final score did not reflect an equal matchup. Brentwood Academy dominated Baylor 35-0, in a game where the Eagles refused to let Baylor’s offense see the red zone.
“We played really good defensively,” Eagles head coach Cody White stated. “I thought offensively we controlled the ball, but shot our self in the foot quite a bit.”
BA’s offense won the time of possession battle by over five minutes, but the Eagles were penalized 12 time for 118 yards, compared to Baylor’s 9 flags for 78 yards.
“We can’t overcome penalties like that all the time,” White said. “When we didn’t have them we scored and when we had them we didn’t. We’re still trying to find a rhythm and mix and match some pieces to find out what we can be offensively. We did pretty good, we just have to keep working.”
Eagles quarterback Jeremiah Oatsvall delivered three rushing touchdowns, including a one-yard score on fourth down. Oatsvall was 7-of-19 through the air with two interceptions and one touchdown pass to tight end Gavin Schoenwald.
Mario Pleasant also added a 19-yard rushing touchdown, coming early in the fourth quarter.
However, Brentwood Academy’s stout defense was the real story of the game, holding Baylor’s offense to zero red zone opportunities.
The Eagles forced four turnovers: a fumble recovery from Thomas Gore, an interception by Evan Beddoe and two picks for Camron Johnson.
“I think throughout the week the coaches put a great game plan in place for us and we knew this was a big game for us,” Johnson said. “We knew they were the No. 1 team in the state, so we definitely had something different to say about that. We focused during practice this week and we executed really well tonight on defense.”
Johnson, a starter on both sides of the ball, finished with one catch for 18 yards and added 27 return yards following his interceptions.
Despite his heavy work load, Johnson thinks playing both positions will only get easier as the season progresses.
“There isn’t really a lot of pacing, it’s just a lot of getting used to it and getting your body ready. As it gets cooler, it will get easier.”
Many BA players have roles on both offense and defense, and White credits this to the team’s practicing and conditioning.
“We do a good job with the way we practice, and [Johnson] understands what he’s doing so he is not stretched mentally,” White said. “But we’ve got guys who can play behind him, and they did a good job of coming in there and taking care of that.”
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