Babb lifts Boyd-Buchanan to playoff victory

Maybe his stars were aligned or perhaps he paid more attention to scouting reports or practice. Regardless, Boyd-Buchanan's Clint Babb had the kind of night he'll one day relate to his grandchildren.

Babb was a ringleader in the Buccaneers' Class 2A quarterfinal victory over Cascade and earned Player of the Week honors in his team's 21-0 victory.

One of seven senior defensive starters, the 5-foot-10, 165-pound cornerback picked off three passes and made 11 tackles as Boyd-Buchanan advanced to Friday's semifinals against Rockwood. That kickoff will be at 7 p.m.

"He had an amazing game," Buccaneers coach Grant Reynolds said. "He was in the right place on every one of the interceptions. He just played a very, very solid game."

The way their defense was set up last week in anticipation of a passing attack, the Bucs were rushing seven and dropping four into coverage on most plays. It left the cornerbacks in man-to-man coverage, especially on corner and go routes.

"Basically he was on an island because of the routes they were running," Reynolds said.

Boyd-Buchanan picked off six passes and recovered a fumble. In addition to Babb's three picks, Taylor Shull had two and Ross Keasler one. Keasler, who also recovered a fumble, finished second in tackles to Babb with 10 and Shull had six.

"They threw the ball 25 or 30 times and some of the stuff was underneath and he came up and made some plays and he came up a few times when they ran a jet sweep," Reynolds said. "Clint has been solid all year but this is really the first time all year that the secondary has been tested like that."

Boyd-Buchanan held Cascade to 137 passing yards and 47 rushing yards. Much came as a result of a lot of 7-on-7 work in practice and some extra film work. The effort was coordinated.

"We were sending seven guys about every time and they probably deserve a good bit of the credit. Cascade's quarterback was putting the ball where he was supposed to but a few times he had to get rid of the ball before he was ready, and then we got to him more and more in the later stages of the game," Reynolds said. "But I can say this is as good a defensive effort as we've had in my 14 years here. Each week these guys have gotten better."

The emphasis should shift some this week. While Cascade came in as a passing team Rockwood offers a different type game. They're more traditional and might throw the ball 10 times.

"They're more run-oriented, run-the-clock offensively," Reynolds said.

The Tigers will be only the second wing-T offense the Buccaneers have seen this year. The first was Silverdale Baptist, a playoff participant they bested 54-7 in Week 2.