By most standards, Ty Chandler had a good first half Friday night, but the Montgomery Bell Academy back and his coach were looking for either a stronger push or a slightly bigger crease up front for Division II-AA’s leading rusher and scorer.
The Big Red changed their approach and turned a 14-14 halftime tie into a 35-21 victory over host Baylor.
“We went to more of a power game, and we were also running a little more on the edge in the second half,” MBA coach Marty Euverard said.
A hard-running junior who mixes quickness with power, Chandler gained 129 second-half yards and three touchdowns and finished the night with 188 yards.
The outcome pushed MBA into at least a host’s role for the first round of the playoffs. Baylor, regardless of its outcome at Father Ryan next week, is destined to travel to Memphis to play the No. 2 team in the West division when the postseason starts.
Baylor coach Phil Massey complimented MBA but told his players before meeting with the media that the Red Raiders did not play their “A” game Friday.
“I didn’t think we had that look in our eyes that we’ve had the last three or four weeks,” he said later.
Baylor found itself in trouble very early, fumbling away opportunity at its 49.
MBA quarterback Glenn Coleman first burned the Red Raiders, hooking up with Chapman Malone on a 52-yard touchdown pass less than three minutes into the first quarter. Baylor rebounded early in the second period to tie when quarterback Wil Austin scored from the 4-yard line.
The Red Raiders took a 14-7 lead on a 1-yard Austin run, and it appeared they’d take that lead into the locker room at halftime.
However, MBA scored with 44 seconds left on another Coleman pass, this one also to Malone, who eluded one defender and then ran through two more tackle attempts to complete a 39-yard play.
“The turnovers hurt, but we have to avoid turnovers and we have to execute,” Massey said. “We missed a few tackles.”
There were three momentum changes in the game – the first Baylor fumble, a missed Baylor field goal and another Baylor fumble that led to another Big Red score.
MBA went up 20-14 on Chandler’s first touchdown, a 1-yard run, and he got the Big Red some breathing room with a 50-yard sprint to the end zone, with the lead pushed to 28-14 after a two-point conversion.
Then Baylor fumbled deep in its territory and Chandler and his offensive mates capitalized again, with the 5-10, 175-pounder scoring from the 3-yard line with 1:54 left.
Baylor’s last score came on a Bryce Verble pass across the middle to Ryan Parker, who powered his way 43 yards to complete the 53-yard play with 1:40 left. Down 35-21, the Red Raiders’ onside kick attempt failed and MBA ran out the clock.
Austin injured his passing hand midway through the final quarter, and the hand had already begun to swell by game’s end. Massey said Austin would have X-rays on Monday.
Contact Ward Gossett at wgossett@timesfreepress.com or 423-886-4765. Follow him at Twitter.com/wardgossett.