The big scoop in Nashville on Friday night was the apparent transfer of lineman Antonio Richardson, who is considered the state's top college football prospect in most quarters.
The big scoop in Chattanooga was that Richardson had indeed withdrawn from Ensworth, that the Tigers didn't need him and that Ensworth dominated previously undefeated Baylor in a 41-29 win. Baylor was the third top-ranked and undefeated team Ensworth has beat this year, joining Smyrna and Brentwood Academy.
Ensworth coach Ricky Bowers would confirm only that Richardson had withdrawn, but sources at the Baylor-Ensworth game said the two-way lineman was transferring for academic reasons to public school Pearl-Cohn. Richardson, a primary target of at least two dozen major college programs including Alabama and Tennessee, did not make the trip to Chattanooga with his Ensworth teammates.
Richardson's father, Lanny, told The Tennessean that his son's grade point average "wasn't rising" as much as they had hoped and then said, "We haven't made a solid decision yet. We told [Ensworth] there's a possibility we would be moving him, but then again we don't know."
While one rumor out of Nashville was that Richardson was recovering from ankle and shoulder injuries, Bowers and his coaching staff had to plan some changes during the team's ride to Chattanooga.
"We came in here with some adversity and we had to make a bunch of adjustments," Bowers said. "There were actually six major adjustments, but the kids just kept hanging in there and coming back."
The news surrounding Richardson overshadowed Ensworth's performance.
"Given the situation, this is a great win because of the adjustments we had to make," Bowers said.
Baylor never did adjust to Cornelius "Corn" Elder, who entered preseason practice penciled in as a backup to returning starter Rodney Anderson. It took a couple of weeks to find the right mixture after a knee injury ended Anderson's season, but Elder emerged as the best fit and Friday he was simply more than Red Raiders defenders could corral, tackle or slow down. The sophomore scored four touchdowns, one on a 70-yard punt return, and rushed for 260 yards with TD runs of 80 and 63 yards. He had an 86-yard TD wiped out because of a holding call.
"He did come out of the woods tonight, didn't he?" Bowers said.
The problem for Baylor wasn't just Elder, though. When Elder left the game after dinging an ankle, Nantambu Fentress entered as a one-play sub and broke an 80-yard scoring run. Senior quarterback Drew Parker, another preseason backup, had a fabulous night also, completing 15 of 20 passes for 253 yards and two TDs.
Baylor had its moments. Quarterback Jacob Huesman scored three TDs, and he and George Porter combined for the bulk of the 193 rushing yards. Huesman passed for 161 yards.