Red Bank football coach Chris Brown is fully aware opponents watch film of his Lions defense and know better, but the temptation is just too hard to pass up when the reality of a 5-foot-6, 155-pound corner matches up against bigger receivers.
“They see the film, but it doesn’t matter,” Brown chuckled Friday night.
“They still go at him, and it’s always the wrong answer. They’ve been going at him for three years, and it’s always been the wrong answer.”
Him is the diminutive, but supersized talented Josh Blackmon. Blakmon had two of Red Bank’s four interceptions, and blocked yet another extra point as the Lions scored two defensive touchdowns on five takeaways in a 41-6 first-round 4A playoff victory over visiting Stone Memorial last night.
“He is one of the best cover corners in the city and we’re thankful to have him back out there healthy. He adds so much to what we do back there,” said Brown, who won a playoff game for the eighth time in just his fourth season.
Brown and Red Bank’s playoff success is in direct contrast with visiting Stone Memorial bunch which has now lost six straight first-round game and has just one playoff win in the school’s 16-year program history.
“We get to keep the family together for another week. There are no sleepwalkers left in 4A football. We did what we had to do to get the win. You look at the final score and it didn’t feel like a 41-6 game, but again, there are no bad football teams left. We got enough to step forward,” Brown said.
The Lions (7-3) will host Macon County (8-3), a 28-26 winner over Central on Friday, in next week’s second-round game.
And they have that thieving defense to thank for it, as the Panthers defense frustrated the Lions’ offense most of the night, forcing four 3-and-outs and limiting Red Bank’s vaunted rushing attack to just 127 yards on 34 attempts.
“We came into this game saying we were going to get takeaways. The defense stepped up when we needed to, and that’s what we’re going to need to make a run,” said Lion defender Jaden Baccus.
It was Baccus who jumpstarted the Lions late in the first quarter. Red Bank had finally found a little running room as freshman Daune Morris broke free on a fourth down carry to take it to the house from 34 yards away on the Lions’ third drive for a 7-0 lead. The Panthers responded with a drive all the way down to Red Bank’s 10 before Kobe Smith hit Stone Memorial quarterback Hunter Heavilon to force a fumble. Baccus scooped up the bounce and raced 87 yards for the momentum swing and 14-0 lead.
“Right place, right time. I never had to break stride to gather it in, and I knew by the time I got to midfield I was going to the house,” Baccus grinned.
The Panthers kept their head up, though, and drove back to the red zone, but this time it was Blackmon with sterling play. Blackmon broke hard on a pass and timed it perfectly, breaking it up and then having the athletic ability to make a diving interception of the breakup.
Red Bank stalled but not before a punt put Stone Memorial back at its own 3. Red Bank called a timeout after getting the third down stop and Ricko Trimble’s 21-yard punt return set up a 15-yard scamper by AD Crutcher to make it 21-zip at the break.
Stone Memorial got its lone score to open the second half as Heavilon found Chris Hannah on a seven-yard toss, but Blackmon blocked the PAT, another one of his specialties. The Lion offense had two 3-and-outs in the third period, but again the defense came up big. Blackmon got his second pick and the Lions went to the air as Joseph Blackmon kept hooking up with Trimble, who caught four passes for 54 yards as the Lions marched 74 yards after the turnover. Trimble caught a seven-yard score.
Morris added another rushing TD on an eight-yard burst, as the freshman finished with 69 yards on 10 carries. Cam Jackson got Red Bank’s final score, jumping an ill-advised pitch and going the final 18 yards for the score.
Crutcher got a hard earned 51 yards on 15 carries and Blackmon completed 14 of 17 passes for 109 yards. Baccus latched on five of them for 49 yards and Trimble had 54 on his four catches. The Panthers wound up with 311 total yards as Jack Shada had 117 on the ground, and the Panthers converted on four fourth downs to keep possession in their favor.
Red Bank is now 36-30 all-time in playoff games and this senior group is 38-7 under Brown’s guidance, looking to advance to the state quarterfinals for the fifth straight season.
Stats
STONE MEMORIAL 0 0 6 0 – 6
RED BANK 14 7 0 20 – 41
RB – Daune Morris 34 run (Julio Andres kick) (2:28, 1st)
RB – Jaden Baccus 87 fumble return (Julio Andres kick) (0:21, 1st)
RB – AD Crutcher 15 run (Julio Andres kick) (01:43, 2nd)
SM – Chris Hannah 7 pass from Hunter Heavilon (kick blocked) (8:36, 3rd)
RB – Ricko Trimble 7 pass from Joseph Blackmon (kick failed) (9:51, 4th)
RB – Daune Morris 8 run (Julio Andres kick) (6:49, 4th)
RB – Cam Jackson 18 interception return (Julio Andres kick) (6:35, 4th)
SM STATS RB
18 1st Downs 12
43-205 Rush 34-127
106 Pass 109
311 Total 236
14-27-4 Passes 11-14-0
7-65 Penalties 5-35
4-21.3 Punts 5-36.0
2-1 Fumbles 1-0
Individual Stats
Rushing: Jake Shada 16-117, Bryant Carter 13-52, Kyle Trantham 5-21, Hunter Heavilon 9-15 (SM); Daune Morris 10-69, AD Crutcher 15-51, Joseph Blackmon 7-7 (RB).
Passing: Hunter Heavilon 14-27-4 106 yards (SM); Joseph Blackmon 11-14-0 109 yards (RB).
Receiving: Kaleb Flowers 7-43, Houston Woody 4-47, Chris Hannah 1-7, Bryson Bilbery 1-10 (SM); Ricko Trimble 4-54, Jaden Baccus 5-49, Kobe Smith 1-4, Tyler Wright 1-2 (RB)
Records: Stone Memorial (6-5) Red Bank (7-3)
Next Up: Red Bank will host Macon County (8-3) on Friday, November 12.
(Contact James Beach via email at 1134james@gmail.com or Twitter @beachnut1134)