Baylor quarterback Matthew Oellerich, No. 11, advances the ball up the field during Baylor’s last meeting with Ensworth earlier this year. Baylor won 42-14.BAYLOR RED RAIDERS (11-1) vs. ENSWORTH TIGERS (11-1)
Tonight, 8 (Eastern)
Coaches, records: Baylor’s Phil Massey (106-60); Ensworth’s Ricky Bowers (131-26)
Last meeting: Baylor won 42-14 on Sept. 16; Ensworth won 28-21 in last year’s state championship game.
How they got here: Both had first-round playoff byes; Baylor defeated Montgomery Bell Academy 20-10 and Christian Brothers 31-28 and Ensworth won 42-17 over Father Ryan and 28-0 over Memphis University School. Each had one loss in the regular season, Ensworth to Baylor and Baylor to Brentwood Academy. Baylor gained the overall No. 1 seed by tiebreaker.
The key: Bowers said everything that could go wrong for his team did in that meeting earlier this year. Baylor recovered two fumbles and intercepted a pass, and quarterback Matthew Oellerich had one of his best performances, rushing for four touchdowns and throwing for another. The Red Raiders are likely to miss junior running back Houston Clements, who suffered a knee injury and was lost for the year. Baylor, while keeping one eye on Tigers running back Corn Elder, must keep another on quarterback Andrew Bowers. The coach’s son teamed up with wide receiver and Vanderbilt commitment Cory Batey for 139 of his 266 passing yards. The Tigers depend greatly on Elder as both a rushing leader (2,030 yards) and as a receiver (400 yards), and Baylor was the only team to hold the junior to less than 100 rushing yards this year.