McCallie coach Ralph Potter dreaded the day he would have to coach against his former players at Brentwood Academy.
That time came Friday night.
Potter's dread was as much for the fact that he knew how potent Eagles quarterback Max Staver (a Florida commitment) and receiver Jalen Ramsey (a Southern Cal commitment) could be.
Unfortunately for the Blue Tornado, both players, and then some, lived up to Potter's expectations.
Brentwood Academy scored 28 second-half points and raced past McCallie, 62-42, at Spears Stadium.
Earlier in the day, McCallie sent out a news release that it was forfeiting its Sept. 7 win over Tyner because of the late-game use of a freshman who turned out to be ineligible.
If statistics alone told the story, McCallie would have been in good shape. The Blue Tornado rolled up 521 total yards, 354 on the ground. It was their three first-half turnovers, two fumbles and an interception, that changed the game.
"Looking at that score, it's hard for me to say that I'm happy, but we actually did some good things," said Potter, who coached Brentwood Academy the past several years. "Those turnovers were the difference in the game. They turned each one into points, and that killed us."
What McCallie's success offensively can do is lead to confidence for next week's TSSAA Division II-AA playoffs. The Blue Tornado will host St. Benedict's Friday at 7:30 p.m.
McCallie (4-5, 3-4) got 133 yards rushing on 22 carries from Samir Usman, while Alex Trotter gained 99 on eight tries. Quarterback Nelson Johnston completed eight of 14 passes for 167 yards. Spencer Morgan and Eric Wolf were on the receiving end of 81 and 80 of those yards.
"I'm proud of our effort," Potter said. "There were times we played really well, and those are the ones we'll focus on this week. I really don't know much about next week; we've got to get better and work on improving these mistakes."
The Eagles' Staver completed 11 of his 19 passes for 256 yards and ran for 54. Ramsey was on the receiving end of 97 yards, and Brandon Taylor had 107 receiving yards. Among the leading rushers, D'montre Wade rolled up 139 yards on 19 carries.
The teams traded scores throughout the first half. Tied at 14 at the end of the first quarter, Brentwood Academy scored with 30 seconds left in the half to make it 35-28, so both teams could catch their breath at intermission.
Coming out, BA scored 14 in the third quarter to put some distance between the teams. McCallie fought on and scored a touchdown with 2:26 remaining in the fourth to cut the lead to 56-42, but time was not on its side. BA finished off the game's scoring with a TD as the game rolled to a close.
Usman scored three touchdowns, while Trotter accounted for two.