A week removed from big wins, Baylor School and Howard met Friday night at Heywood Stadium. A fast start was paramount for each coach.
Star Baylor junior safety Brendon Harris delivered a quick - and decisive - opening salvo in the Red Raiders' 38-6 win.
Harris, who has a handful of college scholarship offers from power programs such as Tennessee, Clemson, LSU and South Carolina, touched the ball four times, returning three punts for 90 yards and a score and taking an interception 28 yards for another touchdown.
"Not really," he said when asked about feeling pressure to make the most of each touch as the Red Raiders' primary kick returner and free safety. "I just try to make the plays when they are available."
Harris' first punt return - a 34-yarder - put Baylor deep in Howard territory. Kalvin Watson capped the deliberate drive with a 3-yard run for the first score.
After a three-and-out, Harris fielded a Howard kick near midfield and 52 yards later crossed the goal line for a 14-0 lead before the student section was completely settled.
"He's definitely a threat to go the distance every time he touches it," Baylor coach Phil Massey said. "He's a special player and brings a level of speed we haven't had in the past."
It was a quick start for a Baylor team that has rolled through the opening four games of the season.
The Red Raiders, who toppled Ensworth last week in their Division II-AA opener, are now 4-0 and have outscored their foes 137-20, with only one touchdown coming against the starting defense. They are ranked No. 1 in the most competitive division in the state, and while the past accomplishments are nice, Harris is quick to point out those notables are just that - in the past.
"We take a lot of pride in what we've done as a defense," said Harris, who said he did not have a leader among his many college suitors. "This was a good win, but now we have to turn the page and get ready for a big one next week."
Baylor will leave home for the first time this season and go to Nashville next week to play Brentwood Academy, the defending state champion. If that's not enough motivation, the Red Raiders have never beaten BA there.
"I'm pretty sure this will be an easy week for our guys to be extremely self-motivated," Massey said of the looming showdown.
Friday night, the Raiders' numbers were not glamorous, but the efficiency was.
Baylor's offense capitalized from the grand starting position the defense provided, getting 10-yard scores from scrambling Trusten McArtor and Jaylon Baker, who hauled in a perfectly placed Lorenzo White pass.
Harris followed with his interception return, and Keegan Weekley's 46-yard field goal right before halftime gave Baylor a 38-0 lead. It was more than enough for a Baylor defense that allowed one first down in the first two quarters.
Not to be ignored was the resiliency of the Hustlin' Tigers, especially defensively in the second quarter.
Behind a front seven led by Anthony Cal and Cameron Thomas, Howard turned away one Baylor drive that started at the Hustlin' Tigers' 13 and recored multiple tackles for loss and two sacks - one each for Cal and Thomas.
"I'm disappointed we didn't play hard enough early on tonight," said Howard coach John Starr, whose team had a big win over Red Bank last week. "The stage was a little big for us tonight.
"We could see Baylor has a great team on the film, but I was disappointed we didn't compete better in the first half."
The Hustlin' Tigers got on the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter when Vincent Bowling's 33-yard pass found Jacques Yarbrough in the end zone.
Howard (1-3) plays at Notre Dame next week.
Contact Jay Greeson at jgreeson@timesfreepress.com.