By Allan Taylor
Correspondent
For most of Friday night’s surprisingly tight game, it appeared Chase Reed’s kicking leg would make the difference for Boyd-Buchanan.
But after his field goal accounted for the only first-half points, Reed ripped off a 90-yard touchdown run and the Buccaneers eventually pulled away from Notre Dame for a 25-0 win.
“We came out a little hesitant and kind of started slow,” said Reed, who gained all but 22 of his 127 yards in the second half. “But as long as we finish well, that’s what really matters.”
Boyd-Buchanan (4-2) crushed the Irish 62-6 last season, and this one figured to be a mismatch as well. But Notre Dame (1-5) trailed only 3-0 midway through the third quarter and had a chance to take the lead after Boyd-Buchanan failed on fourth-and-1 from its own 46.
An errant shotgun snap led to a 15-yard loss for the Irish, but they still seemed to have momentum after pinning the Bucs at their 10. That’s when Reed delivered the game-changer, breaking loose on “Golden 27 Power” and rambling 90 yards untouched.
“We had tried to run power plays all night, but on that one we finally blocked it clean,” said Bucs coach Grant Reynolds, whose team wound up outgaining Notre Dame 338 yards to 61. Boyd-Buchanan held the Irish to minus-7 yards in the second half thanks to sack losses.
After Notre Dame punted out of its end zone, Boyd-Buchanan needed only 22 yards on its next drive. John Hayle’s 3-yard run capped it.
The Bucs pounced on Irish quarterback Jordan MIddlebrooks for a safety in the fourth quarter, before Hayden Meadows sealed the win with a bruising 16-yard run.
The game was scoreless until the final 19.2 seconds of the first half, when Boyd-Buchanan took over at Notre Dame’s 46. After Clayton Parker floated a 36-yarder that Taylor Eldridge hauled in along the sideline with 6.3 seconds left, the Bucs took a quick shot at the end zone. Despite an incompletion, there was time for Reed to kick a 27-yard field goal as the half expired.
Despite an underwhelming first half, Reynolds didn’t chew on his team in the locker room.
“Part of it was Notre Dame playing us tough and getting after us,” Reynolds said. “But the defensive stand was big for our defense, and I told our kids to keep their composure.”
Boyd-Buchanan squandered a red-zone chance in the first quarter when receiver Austin Hall fumbled at the Notre Dame 15 and cornerback Josh Deocampo scampered 62 yards with the loose ball to the Bucs’ 23.
Notre Dame had first-and-goal from the 4, but Boyd-Buchanan stiffened, and linebackers Ross Keasler and Trey Johnson led a surge that stuffed Deocampo on fourth-and-inches.
Meadows added 72 yards on nine carries, while Bucs quarterback Clayton Parker was 9-of-17 for 111 yards.
Jeremy Deocampo led Notre Dame with 58 yards on seven carries, highlighted by a 42-yarder in the fourth quarter.