BRENTWOOD, Tenn. – The ninth time was the charm for McCallie coach Ralph Potter against his former team.
McCallie senior linebacker Dane Beard intercepted a Wade Williams pass on third down and 9 and returned it 32 yards for the game-winning touchdown as the the No. 3 ranked Blue Tornado toppled No. 1 Brentwood Academy 31-27 at Carlton Flatt Field.
It was McCallie’s first win against the Eagles since Sept. 15, 2006. when they won 28-21 in the regular season.
BA had won the last 14 games against the Blue Tornado (7-1), and the win for McCallie also broke BA’s 24-game winning streak, which was the second longest in the state behind Lausanne.
“I can’t say enough about this win and the kids’ effort,” Potter said. “We got a lead early, but they came back in the second half and it looked like we were sunk, but the kids refused to lose tonight.”
Behind the strong running game led by junior quarterback DeAngelo Hardy and sophomore running back B.J. Harris, McCallie outgained BA 435 yards to 261 as Hardy rushed for 187 and scored a touchdown in the win.
Trailing 13-7 at halftime, the Eagles scored on their first two drives of the second half to take a 21-13 lead as Tomario Pleasant and Williams had touchdown runs.
Pleasant was the workhorse for the Eagles as he rushed for 142 yards on 20 carries and scored three touchdowns.
Trailing 27-16, McCallie converted a fourth-and-22 from the BA 27 as Hardy found wide receiver Brandon Benn for the touchdown, and Hardy then found Shannon Williams for a two-point conversion to cut the deficit to 31-27 before Beard’s heroics.
Hardy accounted for 289 yards of total offense as he also added 102 yards on 7-of-10 passing while Harris added 72 yards and a touchdown and Stone Roebuck had 50 yards as the Blue Tornado rushed for 333 yards.
McCallie got off to a fast start as it outgained BA 253-67 in total yardage in the first half. Hardy rushed for 116 yards in the half on 16 carries, which included a 78-yard run to put the Blue Tornado up 13-0.
After a BA punt, McCallie went 63 yards on 13 plays, 12 of which were runs, and Harris scored from a yard out to give McCallie a 7-0 lead.
After Hardy added the 78-yard score, BA showed life on the following kickoff as Preston Sagan returned it 70 yards to set up Pleasant from 3 yards out to cut the McCallie lead to 13-7.