McCallie hardly resembled a well-oiled machine during Friday night’s season opener against visiting Lipscomb Academy at Spears Stadium.
Yet the resiliency that has helped define the Chattanooga area’s most successful football program of the past quarter-century remains in full supply.
Joel Bradford’s Blue Tornado overcame three turnovers and three unsuccessful fourth-and-short conversions to turn back Trent Dilfer’s Mustangs 27-24 in overtime. Asher Kelley’s 27-yard field goal in the extra period proved to be the difference in the TSSAA Division II-AAA nonregion matchup when McCallie stopped Lipscomb Academy at the goal line.
“With a first game, you’ve got a lot of jitters and you’ve got a lot of energy, but you’re playing against an opponent where you’ve seen some scrimmage tape, but there are just so many unknowns,” Bradford said. “You know they’re going to present challenges, because they’re a good football team, and they’re well-coached.
“So now it’s on us, and we’ve got a lot of unknowns. Who are we going to be? We missed a lot of assignments and didn’t execute our best, but our team showed a lot of heart and showed what they’re made of. I’m hoping that is something we can carry with us.”
(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday night’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)
A facemask penalty on the Blue Tornado during Lipscomb Academy’s overtime possession pushed the hosts to the brink of defeat, but they had the answer on the game’s final snap.
“We got a good push,” McCallie defensive coordinator and former Blue Tornado head coach Ralph Potter said. “You just put everybody up on the line. We did a good job, because they used a different formation than when they ran the first one and we called timeout. It could not have been better.
“When the ball is on the half-yard line, that’s what you have to stop. We had our free safety on the quarterback in case he pulled it.”
The Blue Tornado played without senior running back Xavier Fillion, who is recovering from a lower-body injury. Taking his place was Macc Chapin, a freshman boarding student from Tullahoma.
Chapin repeatedly answered the call, rushing 26 times for 140 yards, including an 8-yard touchdown with 3:26 remaining in regulation that gave McCallie its first lead at 22-17. Louis Fortier connected with Levi Scott on the 2-point conversion to make it 24-17.
“I’m very proud of Macc,” Bradford said. “The guy runs the ball with a lot of heart. Honestly I compare him to Keylan Syam, because they both have that low center of gravity. He’s learning, and he’s got a long way to go, of course, but he knows that. He’s the most humble, hard-working kid, and I couldn’t be prouder to have him on our team.”
Said Chapin: “I knew Xavier was out and that I had some big shoes to fill. I’m a little sore, and I can’t wait to get to sleep. I don’t know if it’s going to be for eight hours or 10 hours, but it’s going to be a good bit.”
Lipscomb Academy tied the game with 30 seconds left in regulation on Jaxon Spencer’s 5-yard run and had a chance to win when Fortier was intercepted on the next play from scrimmage. Mustangs kicker Tyson Robbins, who made a 46-yard attempt on the first play of the second quarter, missed this time from the same distance.
Fortier wound up 22-of-42 passing for 302 yards with two touchdowns and the interception, with Scott and Pet Meyers combining on 11 receptions for 160 yards and a score.
“It depends on the first play and whether we can get something going,” Bradford said when asked about being aggressive with so little time left. “The turnover is obviously a learning opportunity for Louis. The ball wasn’t on time, and that’s a key situation we’ll learn from.”
Dilfer led Lipscomb to Division II-AA state championships in 2021-22, with the team winning its six playoff games those two seasons by the average score of 47-5. Dilfer then left to become head coach at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, and the Mustangs suffered as a result, going 10-21 over the past three seasons.
Contact David Paschall at dpaschall@timesfreepress.com.