NASHVILLE _ A blowout loss to bitter rival Baylor. A bye week the following weekend. .A road game at dangerous Father Ryan Friday night in Nashville. How would defending Division II-AAA state champ McCallie respond to its worst adversity of the season?
Turns out just fine.
Thanks to a career high five rushing touchdowns from senior running back Keylan Syam, McCallie won 41-8 after leading 41-0 at halftime. The Blue Tornado and Irish played the entire second half with a running clock. In real time, the second half lasted 27 minutes.
“I was mad for two weeks,” said Syam afterward, referring to the 44-12 loss to Baylor on Oct. 4. “I’ve been wanting to get back on the field ever since Baylor.”
McCallie coach Joel Bradford said of Syam’s five scores and 134 rushing yards in the opening half, “He’s the heart and soul of this team. And it’s not just on the field. He’s a team leader on and off the field.”
McCallie dominated from the beginning. It more than doubled Father Ryan in total yardage 453 to 165. It had 19 first downs to nine for the Irish. And the starters basically headed to the bench after halftime.
“I was proud of how we responded to the Baylor game,” said Bradford. “Our guys came back in that following Monday ready to hit the weight room. We still have a lot of things we need to clean up and improve on. But the effort was there, the right attitude was there.”
In addition to Syan, Carson Lawrence caught two balls for 78 yards and Keeyshawn Tabuteau snared three balls for 55 yards. Joseph Korenblit and Sean Couvertiere each recorded one interception.
McCallie (6-2) hosts Knoxville Catholic (3-5) in a region game next week.
GAME SUMMARY
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MCCALLIE
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17
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24
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0
|
0
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-- 41
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|
FATHER RYAN
|
0
|
0
|
0
|
8
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-- 8
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First Quarter
MC Elliott Arnold 42 FG (9:42)
MC Keylan Syam 9 run (Arnold kick) (7:48)
MC Syam 51 run (Arnold kick) (1:17)
Second Quarter
MC Arnold 30 FG (9:21)
MC Syam 8 run (Arnold kick) (5:55)
MC Syam 14 run (Arnold kick) (1:21)
MC Syam 4 run (Arnold kick) (0:08)
Fourth Quarter
FR Cade Salvar 35 pass from Finn Salvar (Jack Horton run) (0:38)
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STATS
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MC
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FR
|
|
First Downs
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19
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9
|
|
Rushes-Yards
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27-189
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22-50
|
|
Passing Yards
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264
|
115
|
|
Total yards
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453
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165
|
|
Passing (Comp-Att-Int)
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13-22-0
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12-21-2
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|
Penalties-Yards
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9-77
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2-10
|
|
Punts-Average
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1-43.0
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5-36.8
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|
Fumbles-Lost
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0-0
|
0-0
|
|
|
|
|
Individual Stats
Rushing: Keylan Syam 15-134; Kris Lloyd 5-22; Landon Benton 2-21; Joseph Korenbilt 1-8; Keyshawn Tabuteau 3-4 (MC); Kai Slater 8-14; Finn Salvar 1-12; Sam Derrick 4-10; Jack Horton 2-10; Emari Norman 2-6; Jack Armour 1-1; Cade Salvar 1-0; Joseph derrick 3-(-3) (FR).
Passing: Elliott Drapeau 12 of 21 for 258 yards; Rocco Universal 1 of 1 for 6 yards (MC); Finn Salvar 5 of 7 for 62 yards, 1 TD; Joseph Derrick 7 of 14 for 53 yards and 2 interceptions (FR)
Receiving: Carson Lawrence 2-78; Keeyshawn Tabuteau 3-55; Hunter Glasgow 1-37; Jacob Lamontage 1-27; Joseph Korenbilt 2-22; Keylan Syam 1-21; Sean Couvertiere 1-11; Loia Valade 1-7; Chase Moretz 1-6 (MC); Cade Salvar 1-35; Brooks Foster -23; Jack Reilly 3-21; Gareth Miller 1-16; Caiden Anku 1-10; Patrick McGrady 2-8; Sam Derrick 1-2 (FR).
Records: McCallie 6-2; Father Ryan 5-3.
Next up: McCallie hosts Knox Catholic (3-5) next Friday night, while Father Ryan hosts Christian Brothers (5-2).
(Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@mccllie.org)