McCallie quarterback Jay St-Hilaire set the tone with his legs on the very first play Friday night.
The senior then used his potent passing game to lead the undefeated Blue Tornado to a 40-10 home win over Father Ryan.
St-Hilaire was 20-of-31 passing for 191 yards and four touchdowns as McCallie (8-0), the top-ranked team in TSSAA Division II-AAA, rolled a week after its open date. It was the Blue Tornado’s first game since a big rivalry win against region rival and reigning state champion Baylor on Sept. 29.
“It felt good; this was good tonight,” said St-Hilaire, who has committed to Vanderbilt. “We just had to stay focused. After two weeks off, we could have come out too relaxed today. But we came out strong and did good things.”
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
St-Hilaire took the first snap and rushed 55 yards to the Father Ryan 8-yard line. On the next play, he connected with Zach Chari for a touchdown pass.
Father Ryan quarterback Jojo Crump’s 12-yard run pulled the visitors to within 10-7 in the first quarter, but St-Hilaire made touchdown passes of 12 yards to Nolan Sargeant and 15 yards to Keeshawn Tabuteau to extend the lead before halftime. Blue Tornado kicker Elliot Arnold gave the hosts a lift heading into the break when he made a 52-yard field goal as time expired for a 27-10 lead.
After halftime, the McCallie defense clamped down, keeping Father Ryan (3-5) from gaining a first down the rest of the way.
“I thought we played pretty well, and I thought we played a lot better defensively in the second half than we did in the first half,” McCallie coach Ralph Potter said. “We made too many fundamental mistakes in the first half, but I don’t think they made a first down in the second half.”
McCallie’s lead grew on a 10-yard touchdown run by Ja’Von McMahan and a 9-yard touchdown pass from St-Hilaire to Chari, which ended the scoring. McMahan rushed 14 times for 109 yards, and Keylan Syam had 10 carries for 80 yards.
With two road games against Knoxville Catholic and Lipscomb Academy remaining in the regular season, McCallie still has a lot to play for as it looks to secure home-field advantage for the playoffs.
“We just have to get better at everything,” St-Hilaire said. “We have to come out every day and get better at everything and stay focused (on the playoffs).”
Contact Jim Tanner at sports@timesfreepress.com.