Hardy Leads McCallie Past Ensworth, 27-14

Junior Quarterback Spearheads Offensive Attack For 10-1 Blue Tornado

  • Saturday, November 10, 2018
  • John Hunt
McCallie's B.J. Harris spins to avoid a tackle.
McCallie's B.J. Harris spins to avoid a tackle.
photo by Greg Davick

Several outstanding football teams in Hamilton County got upset in the second round of the TSSAA playoffs Friday night, but McCallie wasn’t one of them.

The Blue Tornado improved to 10-1 with their second win over Ensworth, but the second time around was much closer than the first.

McCallie had won 29-0 on Sept. 14, but it took a fourth-quarter touchdown pass from quarterback DeAngelo Hardy to Kris Bowman to finally create a little breathing room and hold off the Tigers as the Blue Tornado advanced to the D-II, Class AAA semifinals with the 27-14 victory at Spears Stadium and Pete Potter Field.

“I thought we played well for the most part, although we had a chance to go up 21 points in the first half and didn’t.  The defense kept playing great and that may have been the difference,” said McCallie coach Ralph Potter following the game.

“We didn’t do a whole lot different from the first game as we just kept grinding away on offense, but DeAngelo Hardy is a special kind of quarterback who can throw well in spots.  There were some crazy plays out there tonight, but I’m just glad to get this one behind us,” Potter added.

Hardy and the Blue Tornado offense always gets a lot of credit for piling up big yards and scoring lots of points, but it was the McCallie defense that really stood tall when it counted most.

Not only did they create five turnovers, but they limited the Tigers to just 106 total yards, including just 15 yards and a single first down in the second half.

Hardy was the go-to guy on offense for McCallie as he finished the game with 153 yards on 33 carries.  His two-yard TD run with 1:56 left in the first quarter put the Blue Tornado up 7-0 while his 38-yard pass to Bowman with 8:17 to play in the game wrapped up the McCallie scoring.

Stone Roebuck had a two-yard TD run in the second quarter while B.J. Harris zipped three yards for another score midway through the third stanza.

Ensworth scored its first touchdown following a botched punt return.

Ari Ruchman covered the loose ball at the 35 before Gerard Bullock hooked up with Isaiah Horton on a six-yard TD pass with 6.7 seconds remaining before halftime.

Ensworth’s only other touchdown came on a 98-yard kickoff return by Keshawn Lawrence with 5:25 to go in the third quarter after McCallie had stretched the lead to 20-7 following Roebuck’s short TD run.

The Tigers didn’t have much else to shout about in the second half as they were limited to 11 yards rushing on 11 attempts while completing one pass for four yards.

Ensworth coach Jeremy Garrett wasn’t the happiest guy when the final horn sounded.

“We just made too many mistakes as turnovers killed us.  We had our opportunities, but just couldn’t get anything going in the second half,” he said before heading to his team’s dressing room.

McCallie’s Hardy was all smiles once the game ended and he’s just happy he had a chance to help his team advance, even if it means a trip to Memphis to face MUS next week.

“It was a good game as I think I did my job, but I hate it when I have a turnover,” he said in response to a lost fumble in the second half.

“Ensworth played us tough and it was a lot closer than the first time, but we never really panicked.  Our offensive line did its job again and we always have confidence in our defense.  We just want to keep winning,” the 17-year-old junior smiled.

McCallie finished with 372 yards total offense, including 316 on the ground and 56 through the air.  The Blue Tornado also had an 18-6 edge in first downs.

Lawrence was the leading rusher for Ensworth as he finished with 65 yards on 11 carries, including a 62-yarder in the first half where he got hit as he approached the end zone and fumbled for a touchback.

Roebuck followed Hardy with 93 yards on 16 attempts.

Defensively for McCallie, Antto Toivio had a fumble recovery and an interception while Dane Beard and Roebuck both had interceptions

Elijah Brooks and Ruchman both had fumble recoveries for Ensworth, which finishes its season at 7-5.

ENSWORTH  0  7  7  0  --  14

McCALLIE  7  7  6  7  --  27

McC – DeAngelo Hardy 2 run (Stone Roebuck kick), 1:56 left in first;

McC – Roebuck 2 run (Roebuck kick), 6:53 left in second;

ENS – Isaiah Horton 6 pass from Gerard Bullock (Fred Jackson kick), 0:06.7 left in second;

McC – Roebuck 3 run (kick failed), 5:46 left in third;

ENS – Keshawn Lawrence 98 kickoff return (Jackson kick), 5:25 left in third;

McC – Kris Bowman 38 pass from Hardy (Roebuck kick), 8:17 left in fourth.

YARDSTICK  ENSWORTH McCALLIE

First Downs               6                                               18

Rushes-Yards                                    22-77                                         63-316

Passing Yards                                      29                                               56

Total Yards                                         106                                              372

Passes (Comp-Att-Int)  5-16-3                                           2-4-0

Penalties-Yards                                  3-12                                              6-62

Fumbles-Lost                                       2-2                                                2-2

Punts-Avg.                                        4-45.0                                            5-39.4

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS:

ENSWORTH RUSHING: Keshawn Lawrence 12-58; Gerard Bullock 4-9.

ENSWORTH RECEIVING: Austin Henderson 1-13; Andre Turrentine 2-6; Isaiah Horton 1-6.

ENSWORTH PASSING: Gerard Bullock 4-8-1 for 25 yards; Cole Kennon 1-9-2 for 3 yards.

McCALLIE RUSHING: DeAngelo Hardy 33-153; Stone Roebuck 16-93; B.J. Harris 8-40; Shannon Walker 4-33.

McCALLIE RECEIVING: Kris Bowman 1-38; Dane Beard 1-18.

McCALLIE PASSING: DeAngelo Hardy 2-4 for 56 yards.

(Email John Hunt at  nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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