Tyner Academy's Keiontae Halfacre (10) runs behind the blocking of teammate Deonta Tyson (62) in the Rams' stunning 13-7 upset of number one ranked Boyd-Buchanan Friday night in a TSSAA Class 2A playoff game. Tyner (9-3) now moves on to host Marion County next Friday in a Division I quarterfinal matchup. The Buccaneers end their season at 11-1.
photo by Dennis Norwood
Boyd-Buchanan won by a landslide the first time they met almost two months ago, but the Tyner Rams won the more important rematch Friday night.
Playing before a near-capacity crowd at Boyd-Buchanan's David L. Boyd Field in the second round of the TSSAA football playoffs, the Rams turned to their defense as they pulled out a 13-7 stunner, ending top-ranked Boyd's winning streak at 11 games and extending their own win streak to six games.
Senior Shannon Spralls, who has spent more time on the sidelines with injuries than in the Tyner backfield, was the man for the Rams as he bulled his way into the end zone from the one with 1:29 play for the winning touchdown.
The Bucs had one last shot, but the Tyner defense stood tall once more and got the ball back for the last time following an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4 with 28.8 seconds remaining.
Tyner snapped the ball one last time before the game ended.
"I told you it would be different this time," said Tyner's legendary head coach Wayne Turner, who has been a miracle worker at times for the Rams in a long and successful career.
"I thought we moved the ball well the whole game. We just kept plugging and finally put one in there at the end. But we also played great defense and it was lights out in the second half," he said in praise of a team that limited the high-octane Boyd-Buchanan offense to just 84 total yards, including just 12 in the final two quarters.
"We were just more physical and aggressive than they were and that was one big difference from the first time we played. But this is a really sweet win, probably one of the best in my career.
"We had some players out the first time with injuries. I don't use that as an excuse, but we were at full strength tonight. It was just like David and Goliath. We brought the slingshot," Turner concluded with a smile after his team had improved to 9-3 overall.
Boyd-Buchanan coach Grant Reynolds was gracious in defeat.
"That's a hard way to go for a great group of seniors and this one will hurt for a while," he told his kids shortly after the final horn had sounded.
"Tyner played a whale of a game and I just got outcoached. That was two pretty good teams playing and it was hard for us to move the ball. They were able to stick one in there late and that's the difference," he added.
Spralls missed most of the first game with an injury, but he was running full speed on Friday night.
He was one happy young man when the game ended.
"It was so close. I felt so bad I missed most of the first game, but all I wanted was for us to beat Boyd-Buchanan. I know that last touchdown was probably the shortest I've ever had, but it was one of the most important. We came here tonight to shock the world as we were the underdogs," he smiled.
The game started out as a punting contest, but the Bucs finally scored on the first play of the second quarter when senior quarterback Cooper Hodge scored on a keeper from the 4.
The Bucs got great field position when a Tyner punt went only 14 yards, but it was miracle it went anywhere as the punter made a leaping grab of a high snap and somehow was able to get the kick away.
E.J. Matthews picked up 7 and 17 yards on the first two plays, moving the ball from the Tyner 31 down to the 7. An offsides penalty moved it half the distance before Hodge scored over the left side. Will Greer's point-after kick made it 7-0 with 11:54 left in the second quarter.
The Rams came right back to tie the game when sophomore Juwan Samuels made a leaping grab of a pass thrown by Emmanuel Moss on a play covering 30 yards. Spralls had gained 28 yards two plays before as the Tyner offense finally began to click.
It was 7-7 at the half.
Tyner got the second-half kickoff and moved from its on 10 to the Boyd-Buchanan 30, but that drive stalled when Kohl Henke intercepted a Moss pass at the 11 and returned it 31 yards to the 42.
Matthews picked up 13 yards on the first play, but the Bucs were forced to punt four plays later and you could tell that the Rams were gaining more and more confidence as time passed.
Kell Stott recovered a Tyner fumble at the Buccaneer 22 near the end of the third quarter, but the momentum was clearly on Tyner's side when the fourth quarter began.
Tyner was stopped on downs on its next possession, but they refused to be denied as they scored the game winner on their next try.
Taking nine plays to move 34 yards, the Rams scored the game-winning touchdown with 1:29 to play.
Moss had hooked up with Samuels for a 16-yard gain on a key third-and-14 conversion while Spralls put his team in great shape with a nine-yard gain down to the 2 as the clock kept ticking.
Spralls got within an inch of the end zone stripe on the next play before plowing into the promised land on the next snap.
Tyner finished with 299 yards total offense, including 136 on the ground and 163 through the air.
Spralls had 85 yards on 19 carries while Patrick Childress accounted for 30 more on one second-half sweep.
Samuels finished with five catches for 90 yards while Jarvan Deloach picked up 61 more on two catches. The Rams finished with 15 first downs.
Boyd-Buchanan finished with a season-low 84 total yards, including 74 on the ground and just 10 through the air. Most of that yardage came in the first half.
The Tyner defense limited the high-powered Bucs to just 12 yards in the second half, six on the ground and six through the air. The Bucs had but one first down in the second half and finished with five.
Matthews had 48 yards on 10 rushing attempts while Carter Broome, Jeremy Borders and Kade Owens all had one catch Owens having the long of six yards.
Tyner had at least five tackles for lost yards, including two by Chaysen Patrick for 16, two by Chris Hawkins for 15 and one by Kenrick Fuller for nine more.
While Boyd-Buchanan's season ends at 11-1, Tyner is now 9-3 and will be at home next week to face Marion County. The Warriors were the last team to beat the Rams as they pinned a 33-20 defeat on them on Oct. 2.
TYNER 0 7 0 6 -- 13
BOYD-BUCHANAN 0 7 0 0 -- 7
BB -- Cooper Hodge 4 run (Will Greer kick), 11:54 left in second;
TY -- Juwan Samuels 30 pass from Emmanuel Moss (Xavier Favors kick), 8:55 left in second;
TY -- Shannon Sprawls 1 run (kick failed), 1:29 left in fourth.
(email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Boyd-Buchanan quarterback Cooper Hodge throws on the run in the Bucs' 13-7 loss to Tyner. The Rams pressured Hodge most of the evening in picking up the second round playoff victory.
photo by Dennis Norwood