Shull sparks romp for Bucs

One of Taylor Shull's main jobs this week was keeping his football team focused. The Boyd-Buchanan senior's biggest fear was that the Buccaneers might let down against a Chattanooga Christian School team playing its first varsity contest.

Instead of just cheerleading, however, Shull set the tone by returning the opening kickoff 88 yards for a touchdown. Quickly focused, the Bucs roared to a 42-0 halftime lead and won the nondistrict game 62-7.

"I thought we executed well early and came out and did what we were supposed to do," said Shull, who added a touchdown reception and fumble recovery in his half of play. "We have a lot of expectations here and we didn't need to come out and overlook them. They came out here and played hard against us."

Boyd-Buchanan coach Grant Reynolds likewise was pleased with the quick start and used the big lead to get most of his 54 players into the game.

"It was their first game and I know they were a bit nervous," Reynolds said of the Chargers. "We were nervous also. We played a really good first quarter, and that's the way I want to see us come out against everybody. The defense especially played well, and the offensive line blocked well."

The Bucs held CCS to 4 yards rushing on 29 attempts and just 9 total yards with their varsity defense, intercepted two passes, forced a fumble and never showed a lack of intensity.

Following Shull's kickoff return and a three-and-out, the Bucs rode the hard running of senior Ben Beasley for six consecutive runs netting 47 yards. Fullback Hayden Meadows scored one play later from 5 yards out for a 13-0 lead. Jordan Miller blocked the extra point, the Chargers' first official varsity highlight.

Later in the first quarter Beasley carried all three times on a 66-yard drive, the last one for a 21-yard touchdown. He later added a 10-yard scoring run and finished his half of work with 113 yards on 15 carries.

The Bucs added an 8-yard Andrew Crowe scoring pass to Shull and Ross Kessler's 19-yard return of a blocked punt for their six-TD halftime lead.

Reserves played the second half for Boyd-Buchanan and several also got into the game for the Chargers, who scored their first varsity touchdown with 30 seconds to play on Max Stuermer's 4-yard run on fourth down.

"I don't think I ever looked at the scoreboard," CCS coach Barry Loyal said. "That's not what mattered. Some horrendous coaching got us down three touchdowns right away, but the guys kept battling and our defense especially kept playing hard. I'm excited about what we've got going."