Tyrus Ward's rebuilding project continues at his high school alma mater. Brainerd's second-year football coach laid another block in the foundation Thursday night with a 35-25 Region 3-3A win over visiting McMinn Central.
The win assured the Panthers of a winning record within the region and a third-place finish heading into the state playoffs - the program's first appearance in the postseason since 2011.
"This is what I envisioned when I came back here two years ago," Ward told his team after the game. "It's not been the season we wanted - we let some games get away - but the great thing about the playoffs is now we've got a second chance."
Brainerd (4-6, 3-2) will travel to the second-place finisher from Region 4 next week, which will be the loser in tonight's matchup of Sequatchie County and Upperman.
The Panthers averaged nearly 14 yards per carry while rolling up 343 rushing yards against McMinn Central, led by Ciante Chaney's 133 yards and Robert North's 103.
"This win has everybody hyped up and ready going into the playoffs now," Chaney said. "We've talked about wanting to get to the playoffs all season, and now we've got our shot."
Brainerd made it look easy early on, driving 72 yards in just five plays on its opening possession, capped by Chaney's 27-yard touchdown run. After Brainerd's defense held the Chargers on downs inside its 10-yard line, Chaney was instrumental in the team's second score as well.
Scooping a low snap on fourth-and-10, Chaney raced around the left side of the line for a 45-yard gain, and one play later sophomore quarterback Xiyeer Lattimore passed to Tre Owten for a 13-yard touchdown and a 13-0 lead.
McMinn Central battled back with a score just before halftime and another on the final play of the third quarter to tie the game, but Brainerd answered with three touchdowns in less than four minutes to pull away in the fourth.
The first of those scores, which put the Panthers back ahead to stay, came when Ward opted to go for it on fourth-and-1 from their own 38. North took the direct snap and bolted straight up the middle for a momentum-shifting 62-yard touchdown.
Brainerd then forced turnovers on back-to-back Chargers possessions, scoring off each to put the game away.
"On that fourth down, I just felt like we needed to get some momentum and put the pressure back on them," Ward said. "I trust our players and figured if we couldn't get a yard, we didn't need to win this one.
"That gave us a big-time energy boost."
Contact Stephen Hargis at shargis@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6293. Follow him on Twitter @StephenHargis.