Like any two predators in battle, Boyd Buchanan and Chattanooga Christian went the better part of two quarters Friday night getting a feel for one another, swapping punts on their first seven possessions and running the ball on 23 of the first 25 offensive plays.
It was a battle to see who would drop their guard first. A cat versus cat match to see who would become the mouse. A starring contest to see who would blink first.
And with Boyd Buchanan coach Gary Rankin knowing he had one of the top defenses in the state, fresh off four shutouts in a 5-0 start to the fourth-ranked Bucs' season, he was more than willing to wait to pounce at the right moment.
The Bucs got that opportunity after a punt was downed at the CCS' 4, holding the Chargers to 3-and-out possession to force a punt from its own end zone, and when Sabastain Jones returned it 30 yards to the 16, it was time to pounce. Houston Hicks completed his only pass of the night, a 12-yard pitch to outlet man Asher Kech to turn a third-and-13 into a fourth-and-1 at the CCS' 7 before keeping it on a QB sneak to convert. One play later, Jaylon Sandefer burst untouched into the end zone for the first of his three scores in an eventual 35-14 victory over the Chargers.
"We didn't want to make any mistakes early and they didn't either. They're a good football team and both teams played it close to the vest early. I thought the special teams play got things going, and then they had a turnover, and we took advantage of the opportunities. Once we got it going, I thought we wore on them a little bit, and they didn't like that," said Rankin as the Bucs scored on three of their next four possessions to make 21-0 midway through the third period.
The win completed step two of the "revenge tour" as the Bucs have now beaten two of the four teams they lost to last season (Silverdale and CCS) in Rankin's first year on the job. There's a reason Rankin sits alone as the state's all-time winningest prep football coach.
"It was different this week around campus. I could tell the faculty was primed for this game and the student body was too. We beat a good football team, a big time program, and now it's on the next," said Rankin, who watched the squad snap a six-game losing streak to its rivals from Broad Street.
It didn't take long for Boyd Buchanan to extend its 7-0 lead after Kaiden Bates pounced on a forced fumble near midfield, the first of three CCS turnovers on the night which ran the Bucs' takeaway total to 17 on the season. The Bucs followed up with their two best runs of the night, gains of 13 and 10 to get it just outside the 20, and quickly went with a heavy package and unbalanced line which caught CCS by surprise. The result was Sanderfer busting off a 21-yard score behind two fullbacks to make it 14-0 at the half.
"We executed tonight. We did exactly we were supposed to do, and it was beautiful. I guess some people look at this game as revenge, but as players it was just another opportunity for us to play football," smiled Sanderfer, who finished with 120 yards on 12 totes.
He was also a key part of a defensive unit that limited CCS to 63 first-half yards and an 0-for-5 slate on third downs.
"Our defense did what it needed to do. We're not as big as them, but we trust our skills and our techniques. Now it's all about staying humble and keep working to get better," said Bates, who was an absolute beast from the linebacker slot for the Bucs.
Boyd Buchanan (6-0) came out of the dressing room with no doubt who the mouse was after the momentum of that second period, needing just three running plays to cover 65 yards with the second half kickoff. Jatavious Davis, who didn't have a single touch in the first half, broke off a 14 yard run and then put his foot in the ground and sprinted to the end zone with a 46-yard jaunt to make it 20-0 just 10:28 into the third.
"Jatavious is capable of that, and has shown us that, but he hasn't played well recently. Tonight he looked like what we have seen early in the year and the spring. And Sanderfer is a man out there. He's as good as there is," Rankin said of his backs as Davis added 67 yards on seven second half carries.
After completing just one pass in the first half for minus-five yards, CCS had no choice but go into gunslinger mode, and it did provide a spark as quarterback Gavin Berger completed 21 second-half passes, including going 5-of-6 in the Chargers first drive after falling behind by 20. Berger hit Jermaine Stinson for a 34-yard completion and then found him for an 11-yard scoring toss. It was only the second TD the Bucs defense had allowed all season and it cut the score to 20-7 with 8:27 left in the third.
The Bucs responded with nine straight running plays to cover the 75 yards as Sanderfer twice got loose with the heavy unbalanced line package in front of him. Sanderfer broke off a pair of 21-yard runs, the final one covering the scoring distance to push it back to 28-7 after a two-point conversion.
CCS took advantage of the Bucs' second-team defense to push across another score, but not before Timothy Jones and Isaac Summey picked off passes. Jones returned his 65 yards for a score, but a penalty nullified it, but Summey took his back inside the CCS nine where Jones took it in for the Bucs' final score.
Ladruis Hollingsworth added a19 yard score for CCS for the final tally and wound up with 26 carries for 118 rushing yards. Berger added 207 through the air and Stinson caught four passes for 87 yards.
SUMMARY
CHATT CHRISTIAN 0 0 7 7 -- 14
BOYD BUCHANAN 0 14 14 7 -- 35
BB -- Jaylon Sandefer 2 run (Ethan Lane kick) (6.53, 2nd)
BB -- Jaylon Sandefer 21 run (Ethan Lane kick) (0:52, 2nd)
BB -- Jatavious Davis 46 run (kick failed) (10:28, 3rd)
CC -- Jermaine Stinson 14 pass from Gavin Berger (Nathan Deloach kick) (8:27, 3rd)
BB -- Jaylon Sandefer 21 run (Brayden Standefer pass from Houston Hicks) (3:00, 3rd)
BB -- Sabastain Jones 9 run (Ethan Lane kick( (4:51, 4th)
CC -- Ladruis Hollingsworth 19 run (Nathan Deloach kick) (2:19, 4th)
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STATS
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CC
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BB
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First Downs
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17
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12
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Rushes-Yards
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34-142
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40-259
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Passing Yards
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207
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12
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Total yards
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349
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271
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Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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22-35-0
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1-4-0
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Penalties-Yards
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5-42
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6-45
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Punts-Average
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4-39.2
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6-33.6
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Fumbles-Lost
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2-1
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1-1
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Individual Stats
RUSHING: Ladruis Hollingsworth 26-118, Malik Lee 6-16 (CCS); Jaylon Sandefer 12-120, Jatavious Davis 7-67 (BB).
PASSING: Gavin Berger 22-35-2 207 yards (CCS); Houston Hicks 1-3-0 12 yards (BB).
RECEIVING: Jermaine Stinson 4-87, Dre Jackson 7-60, Ephrain McGhee 3-28, Ezra Duble 3-26 (CCS); Asher Kech 1-12 (BB).
RECORDS: Chattanooga Christian (3-3, 2-2 DII 2A East) Boyd Buchanan 6-0 (3-0 DII 2A East).
UP NEXT: Chattanooga Christian hosts CAK and Boyd Buchanan hosts Notre Dame.
(Contact James Beach at 1134james@gmail.com)