Prep football: Baylor, McCallie look to challenge in Division II-AA

Baylor's Ryan Parker chases McCallie's Shawn McColley after he picked up a fumble during the rivalry matchup last season at Spears Stadium. The Red Raiders and Blue Tornado are both doing some rebuilding of their offensive and defensive lines as they prepare to kick off their 2015 schedules.
Baylor's Ryan Parker chases McCallie's Shawn McColley after he picked up a fumble during the rivalry matchup last season at Spears Stadium. The Red Raiders and Blue Tornado are both doing some rebuilding of their offensive and defensive lines as they prepare to kick off their 2015 schedules.

Division II-AA Aat a glance

* Team to beat: Brentwood Academy has six home games this season and returns eight offensive and seven defensive starters, including three-year offensive line starters Bryce Matthews (6-5, 290), who has scholarship offers from several Southeastern Conference programs, and Tennessee commitment Ryan Johnson (6-5, 290). * Watch out for: McCallie’s offense was able to score seemingly at will last season, but its defense struggled at times. Fixing those problems will determine just how stout the Blue Tornado can be. They also have nine total starters back, but some of the best talent is among an unproven junior class. If those players live up to their potential (there are as many as six college prospects in the class) the Blue Tornado will be tough to do business with.* Best game: There will be more college prospects on the field when Brentwood Academy and Ensworth play on Oct. 2, but for local interest, there isn’t a better prep rivalry than Baylor hosting McCallie that same night.* Dream schedule: Father Ryan opens with two smaller public schools that were a combined 2-18 last year, and the Fighting Irish’s non-league schedule also includes a mediocre Spring Hill squad and small private school Evangelical Christian. Four of Father Ryan’s opponents did not have winning records last year, although it will host league favorite Brentwood Academy as well as Baylor and McCallie.* Nightmare schedule: McCallie has arguably the toughest slate of games of any team in the state. The Blue Tornado open at Atlanta’s Parkview, a four-time state champion, then travel to Murfreesboro’s Blackman (a Class 6A semifinalist) and league foe Father Ryan before finally playing a home game. All 10 McCallie opponents reached the playoffs last season, including a state champion, a runner-up and two semifinalists. The Blue Tornado play at Baylor, which reached the quarterfinals last year, and there’s also a late-season trip to Orlando to take on Florida power Oxbridge Academy.* Players to watch: Montgomery Bell Academy RB Ty Chandler is considered by most recruiting websites to be among the top 100 junior prospects in the nation, while Ensworth TB Darius Morehead is one of the fastest players in the state. Locally, Baylor LB Ryan Parker has 394 career tackles, while McCallie DB Nygel Edmonds has already committed to Stanford and senior teammates JaVaughn Craig and Corey McDonald will also play at the next level.* Predicted order of finish: Brentwood Academy, Ensworth, MBA, McCallie, Baylor, Father Ryan, Pope John Paul II.

photo Staff Photo by Dan Henry / The Chattanooga Times Free Press- 10/3/14. Baylor School head coach Phil Massey watches his team while playing against McCallie School during the rival game at the Blue Tornado's home field (Spears Stadium) on October 3, 2014.

It wasn't like the bottom completely fell out of the program, but last season, for the first time in five years, Ensworth did not win the Division II-AA football state championship.

The Tigers lost to fellow mid-state power Montgomery Bell Academy by three in the title game, and with graduation hitting Ensworth hard, there isn't as much experience returning. Add in the fact that other teams have added enough talent to challenge for the title, and this could be the most wide-open race in years in the state's toughest league.

MBA brings back six starters on each side of the ball - including tailback Ty Chandler, one of the top-rated junior prospects in the nation - keeping it near the top of preseason league expectations.

Brentwood Academy has a total of 14 starters back, including the best pair of offensive tackles in the state. Ryan Johnson, who has committed to the University of Tennessee, and Bryce Matthews, who has offers from several Southeastern Conference schools, are both 6-foot-5, 290 pounds.

In recent years, Baylor has proven its coaching staff knows the formula for deep playoff runs, and McCallie has closed the talent gap in coach Ralph Potter's third year back and appears poised to join the contenders.

"We had played pretty well on defense early, but we left a lot to be desired late," Potter said. "We've talked a lot about it with our kids on that side of the ball, and there's improvements that each of them can make. We've changed some things, but we have to do the fundamentals better."

McCallie won its first seven games last season and looked ready to compete with the top teams in the division. But youth showed up down the stretch in blowout losses to Brentwood Academy and MBA. Whether the defense can become stingier will determine just how good McCallie can be, and there is talent to do so, starting with Stanford commitment Nygel Edmondson in the secondary. Much is expected from junior linebacker and running back Shawn McColley as well.

Just one starter is back on the offensive line, but the athleticism of senior quarterback JaVaughn Craig can overcome that lack of experience up front. Craig is as good a dual-threat weapon at quarterback as there is in the state and is drawing plenty of interest from college recruiters.

With the graduation of all-state running back Alex Trotter, who's now at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, the Blue Tornado will likely use a committee of ball carriers, including Xavier Brooks and Max Inyeoh.

Baylor has more experience returning, with six offensive starters and five defensive starters back, but similarly to their rival, the Red Raiders must break in a completely new group up front. They lost every starter on the defensive line and three of five offensive line starters from a team that got hot late, reached the semifinals and came within two points of its third state title game appearance in five years.

The Raiders also have to replace quarterback Nick Tiano, a Mississippi State signee. But there is talent at that position, including senior Wil Austin, a transfer from Haywood County who threw for more than 1,950 yards and ran for 450 last year.

"We'll be fine there, and I really like our talent out of the backfield, especially Adrian Harris," Baylor coach Phil Massey said. "He's our fastest player and pound-for-pound strongest on the team, and I really like how versatile he is. He runs hard and can catch the ball out of the backfield and make big plays."

On defense, senior linebacker Ryan Parker is an all-state tackling machine, Preston Ballard is back after leading the team with four interceptions and fellow returning starters George Pettway and Ulysses Strawter solidify the secondary.

Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293.

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