Three years had elapsed since the last time Baylor scored a touchdown against Montgomery Bell Academy.
The Red Raiders scored two Thursday night in their 14-10 win over the Big Red in a TSSAA Division II East/Middle matchup.
“This is the one we needed to win to show them that we are here,” Baylor quarterback Jacob Huesman said. “We needed to prove to everybody in this league that we can play with the league powerhouses. We showed that we’ve turned it around and we can beat those teams.”
Huesman rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries to lead Baylor (5-0, 3-0), ranked No. 2 in the state. Reserve quarterback Dylan Hall led third-ranked MBA (4-1, 1-1) with 164 passing yards in place of Aaron Simonis, who left the game in an ambulance late in the second quarter.
MBA’s Tyler Franks set up the game’s initial score with a 58-yard run. Jhamall Wright finished the drive with an 18-yard touchdown run.
Baylor immediately responded. Huesman took the next snap and raced around the left side for an 84-yard touchdown with 3:41 to go in the first quarter.
“Going onto the field, I was thinking that it’s time to answer right here,” Huesman said. “We called a good play, executed it, and the hole opened up.”
The Red Raiders took the lead when George Porter finished a 12-play drive with a 1-yard plunge about two minutes before halftime.
The next snap was scary.
Simonis, MBA’s junior quarterback, carried up the middle and took a shot from 5-foot-7 sophomore Russell Burton. Simonis remained on the turf at the 40-yard line with athletic trainers from both teams, a Baylor doctor and EMTs tending to him.
During the delay, both head coaches called their players over for a quick prayer as silence overtook Heywood Stadium.
MBA coach Daniel McGoin received word from Erlanger hospital that Simonis will be fine, that he never lost consciousness and had movement in all of his extremities.
“I know it was a good clean hit,” McGoin said. “He had a concussion last year, too.”
Hall, a sophomore, replaced Simonis and moved the Big Red into position for a 33-yard field-goal attempt. But a high snap led to an errant kick, leaving the Red Raiders with a 14-7 lead at halftime.
Hall led MBA to a third-quarter field goal, a 28-yarder by Philip Spelman. Baylor attempted to get those three points back with a 34-yard attempt, but it missed left with 3:34 to play.
A couple of penalties helped the Big Red move to the Baylor 25-yard line. But a holding penalty, another for intentional grounding and a sack by John Mackey left MBA facing fourth-and-40.
Hall attempted a Hail Mary pass that Baylor knocked down with three seconds left to preserve their win.
“This game was about as close as you can get,” McGoin said. “We both scored twice, but one of ours was a field goal.”
Contact David Uchiyama at duchiyama@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6484. Follow him on Twitter at twitter.com/UchSports