The last subject any Baylor School fan wants to hear about is a losing streak. Having snapped McCallie’s 11-year run last year, the Red Raiders have reversed that series and now own a modest two-game streak of their own in the rivalry.
But amid the best start to a season in 32 years, Baylor (6-0) will try to break another futility streak tonight against perennial state power Brentwood Academy.
Baylor has not beaten BA since Division II was formed in 1997, and along with a couple of seasons in which the Eagles won both a regular-season and a playoff meeting, the streak now is up to 15 games. What’s worse, the games haven’t even been that close, with BA winning by an average of 32-11.
It’s been nine years since Baylor came within a touchdown of the Eagles. Baylor’s last win in the series came in 1981.
The Eagles were the top-ranked team in D-II until last week’s loss to Ensworth dropped them to third and vaulted Baylor into the top spot. Baylor’s impressive start this season is even moreso since five of its victories have come against teams that have been state-ranked at some point. Included in that mix was a four-point win over last year’s state runner-up, Montgomery Bell Academy.
Not since McCallie won the 2001 championship has a D-II team from Chattanooga been considered a serious state-title threat. While Baylor has earned a lot of statewide respect this season, a win tonight over a program with 10 state titles and 14 runner-up finishes would mean even more than the current state rankings as far as overcoming the psychological edge Nashville-area D-II programs have held for nearly a decade.
“We felt really good about beating MBA because it meant we’re not just a name on somebody else’s schedule now,” Baylor coach Phil Massey said. “Because of how tough the competition is and the fact that our league stretches statewide, we’re extremely proud about earning respect in D-II.
“There were a lot of things I didn’t have any control over when I came here. We inherited some things that we’re trying to change, like beating McCallie, and now we hope to end another streak. It’s not something we dwell on, but I know news guys and people have to look for an angle to make the story more interesting. We’ll just use it as motivation.”
Of course BA also has plenty to prove after last week’s upset loss. The Eagles have only one D-II title (2006) and have had to settle for second in D-II eight times, so supporters are expecting coach Ralph Potter to deliver in his third year. Potter hasn’t lost a game to Baylor since 1997, his first year as McCallie’s coach, and his BA squad this year has pummeled opponents by an average of 45-19.
Potter never has bought into the psychology of success from previous years carrying over or how emotions can affect the present.
“None of what happened before matters. That’s all garbage,” Potter said this week. “People make way too much out of psychological things off the field. That emotion lasts about 20 seconds; then football comes down to who executes the best. Baylor is just another obstacle for us. Every season is made up of a succession of individual moments, and this is an opportunity for us to take another step toward our goal.”
So the opportunity is there for each team to make a statement going into the season’s home stretch. And should the Red Raiders snap yet another ugly streak, they’ll get a week to rest and then must tackle yet another challenge against an Ensworth team that already beat BA – the Ensworth program that has won the only previous meeting with Baylor.