A week after letting South Pittsburg put up 52 points, Boyd-Buchanan wanted to redeem itself with a big night on defense and special teams.
The Buccaneers did just that in a 10-6 road victory to squash Silverdale Baptist Academy's playoff hopes and to lock the Region 3-2A No. 3 seed in the regular-season finale Friday night.
Allowing only 80 yards on 32 carries and making two special-team fumble recoveries and a pair of interceptions, Boyd-Buchanan held an opponent to less than 10 points for the third time this season.
"We are trying to get some things going with our offense, but when you have a great defense you can be patient," Boyd-Buchanan coach Carter Cardwell said. "Our kicking game was outstanding tonight, and that put them in a bind. When you have that working, you can win games the old style."
While the Bucs (7-3, 5-2) finished with zero passing yards on just one completion, Ross Wortman found another way to help his team win. The senior quarterback was in a groove all night as the punter.
After already pinning Silverdale (6-4, 3-4) within its own 4 earlier in the first quarter, Wortman boomed another punt with a side-to-side spin that was tough to handle for the Seahawks returner and was scooped up by Troy Bearden.
A play later, senior running back Jeremy Borders blasted through a nice hole presented by his blockers for an 8-yard touchdown run to put the Bucs ahead 7-0 with six seconds left in what was just the beginning of a defensive battle.
Wortman's unusual spins helped Boyd-Buchanan press the kicking game and lead to another fumble recovery on a punt that led to a 32-yard Eli Terrell field goal for a 10-0 lead in the second quarter. Wortman ended up with three punts inside the 10-yard line.
The Bucs' defense finished with 11 tackles for loss while allowing 222 total yards. Cade and Asa Owens starred on the defensive line, while linebackers Tyler Walker and Tanner Harris were all over the field.
"I can put a lot of the success we had tonight on the coaches," Walker said. "They taught us all the reads. We had a lot of heart in this game, and I have a lot of heart for Boyd. We just left it all on the field in this game."
Silverdale's senior quarterback Alex Gonzalez finished his prep career with a 211-yard night through the air, which included 100 yards in the final 5:35 of the first half. Gonzalez completed 14 of 29 passes and found standout senior linebacker/receiver Christian Rogers for a 12-yard score with 23 seconds left in the game.
Rogers, who came into the night ranked third in the Chattanooga area in total tackles with 100.5, finished with nine tackles and 1.5 tackles for loss.
"Our 12 seniors are going to be fine," Silverdale coach Al Rogers said. "They set examples to this younger group, and I'm so proud of them. Those are 12 disciples who not only talk the talk but walk the walk. It's been an honor to coach those guys, and I love them."
Despite the Seahawks allowing nothing through the air and 108 yards rushing on 39 carries, four turnovers were too much to overcome.
Borders finished with a game-high 89 rushing yards on 28 carries and had a late 31-yard touchdown called back.
Contact Patrick MacCoon at sports@timesfreepress.com