For multiple months, Baylor football coaches and players had to live with the pain of last December’s TSSAA Division II-AAA state championship contest at Finley Stadium and how a 21-0 lead over rival McCallie evaporated in a 27-21 defeat.
Such an outcome doesn’t just disappear altogether, but Erik Kimrey and his Red Raiders created a new memory with Friday night’s 56-35 semifinal defeat of the Blue Tornado at Baylor’s Heywood Stadium.
“I think the biggest thing we learned was that if you’re going to do something special, even when you’ve faced heartbreak, you have to put your whole soul into something,” said Kimrey, who is 44-6 in four seasons as Baylor’s coach. “I was proud of our team to be able to do that this year. The job is not done, though, because we want to go back there and win it this time.
“I think these guys are set to do that.”
Baylor and fellow DII-AAA finalist Brentwood Academy are each 11-0 heading into their Dec. 4 BlueCross Bowl date at Finley, with their scheduled regular-season meeting on Sept. 5 having been canceled due to lightning in the Nashville area.