Middle Tennessee Christian Academy travelled down I-24 Friday night from Murfreesboro to deliver a knockout punch to Grace Baptist Academy ,35-0, in a Division II-A region contest.
Coming into the contest MTCS was winless, while Grace stood at 2-2 and 1-1 in the region.
The Cougars (1-4, 1-2) built up a 28-0 lead by the half, added a lone score in the third quarter and let their defense do the rest, as it held the Eagles (2-3, 1-2) to only 86 yards of total offense.
Senior running back Kamari McGowan was a one man wrecking crew for MTCS, rushing for four touchdowns and a total of 237 yards on 20 carries.
The Cougars defense was anchored by junior linebacker Trey Harris. Harris accounted for eight solo tackles with one for loss. Sophomore defensive lineman Aleric Watson chipped in with seven tackles with four of his stops being for a loss.
Grace’s Conner Brown led the Eagle defense with two solo stops and seven assists, while Mason Long and Cooper Knecht each had three solo tackles.
The Cougars amassed 486 yards in total offense, with 284 coming on the ground and 212 through the air for a somewhat balanced attack. Both teams ran a total of 39 plays and were nearly equal in time of possession.
Grace travels to Donaldson Christian Academy next Friday.
Scoring Summary
MTCS 7 21 7 0 -- 35
GRACE 0 0 0 0 -- 0
First Quarter
MTCS – Kamari McGowan 40 run (Garriott Scott kick)
Second Quarter
MTCS – McGowan 32 run (Scott kick)
MTCS – McGowan 44 run (Scott kick)
MTCS – Ethan Adams 45 pass from Jackson Green (Scott kick)
Third Quarter
MTCS – McGowan 67 run (Scott kick)
YARD STICK
MTCS GRACE
First Downs 15 5
Rushes/Yards 33-284 24-43
Passing 5-6-212 11-15-43
Total Yards 486 86
Fumbles/Lost 1-1 0-0
Punts 2-12.5 7-32.9
Penalties 5=36 5-31
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing – MTCS: Kamari McGowan: 20-247-2, Drew Lusk: 10-56, Jackson Green: 1-0, Blake Moore: 1- minus 1; Grace: Tyler Parrott 6-19, Justin carter 5-11, Mason Long 3-10, Cooper Knecht: 10-3.
Passing – MTCS: Jackson Green: 5-6-212-1; Grace: Cooper Knecht: 8-11-38, Mason Long: 3-4-5.
Receiving – MTCS: Trey Harris: 2-98, Hunter Harris: 2-69, Ethan Adams: 1-45-1; Grace: Will Lehman: 3-22, Tyler Parrott: 5-20, Caleb Adams: 2-1, Cooper Knecht: 1-0.
(Email Dennis Norwood at dennisnorwood56@gmail.com; folow him on Twitter at @DennisENorwood)