As he was walking off Davenport Field at Finley Stadium in the final hours of November 30th last year, then-McCallie offensive coordinator Joel Bradford was keenly aware that his life was about to undergo a dramatic change. Though few people knew it at that moment following the Blue Tornado’s 34-28 win over archrival Baylor in the Division II-AAA state title game, McCallie head coach Ralph Potter was about to retire after 21 total seasons running the Big Blue show and Bradford was about to succeed him.
“I knew the goal would be to get back to the state title game,” said Bradford on Tuesday afternoon as McCallie was practicing for that very game.
“That’s always the goal. But what if we didn’t? What if we went on a 20-year drought. Would I still be the coach then?”
Well, Bradford will have to wait at least 20 more years for that answer, since McCallie will once again face Baylor in the Blue Cross Bowl at 7 p.m. Thursday at Finley Stadium.
Unlike last year, McCallie (10-2) will be the heavy underdog against the undefeated Red Raiders (12-0), who crushed the Blue Tornado 44-12 on October 4 at Baylor.
Not that Red Raiders coach Erik Kimrey believes that outcome will have anything to do with the rematch.
“We haven’t talked about last year or the game in October at all,” wrote Kimrey in an email earlier this week. “We understand the difficulty of the task at hand and are focused on accomplishing our goal.”
That goal will be to deliver Baylor its second state championship in three years. McCallie’s goal is to capture its fifth state title in six years. If you wonder why there is such frustration throughout the rest of the state over the recent domination of two private Chattanooga boarding schools whose campuses are roughly 10 miles apart, that recent postseason domination is a good place to start.
Of course, as dominant as the twin Chattanooga powers have been the past six years, from 2002 through 2018 neither team won a state title and only McCallie reached the state title game over that long expanse of time, losing the 2006 state championship to Brentwood Academy. Those 17 years saw Nashville schools win 12 crowns with a 13th later forfeited by Montgomery Bell Academy. Memphis University School won the other four.
And even McCallie’s four titles since 2019 didn’t come in four straight years. Ensworth and Brentwood, both of Nashville, won four straight at one point in those 17 years.
Still, it’s Baylor _ in its third straight Blue Cross Bowl _ and McCallie who are the hottest programs in the state of late.
But given the Red Raiders’ dominance over McCallie in the October game, as well as its similar excellence against everyone else on its 2024 schedule _ Baylor’s average score is a dizzying 39-13 over its 12 victories _ can the rematch possibly produce a different winner?
“We’re a different team,” said McCallie senior running back Keylan Syam, who’s led McCallie all season in rushing and touchdowns. “We’re better everywhere. We’re not the same team.”
Added senior defensive back Carson Lawrence, who signed with Vanderbilt on Wednesday morning, “We’ve learned to deal with adversity since them. I think we’ve gotten better in all areas, but Baylor’s better than Ensworth (who McCallie beat 31-7 in the semis) so we’ve got to play our best game of the year.”
Listen to Brentwood Academy quarterback George MacIntyre, who was expected to sign with Tennessee this week, and how much McCallie has improved may not matter.
"They're just bigger, faster and stronger," MacIntyre told the Chattanooga Times Free Press after the Eagles’ 35-21 semifinal loss at Baylor on November 22. "They've done a good job recruiting the last couple of years, and they're a really tough team to play. They match up well with anyone they play, and they're good at what they do."
Whichever school wins the rematch of last year’s classic final, count Kimrey, now in his third year at Baylor, as a huge fan of the rivalry.
“The atmosphere around every Baylor/McCallie game I’ve been fortunate to be a part of has been first class," he wrote. “It has to be one of the best rivalry games in the country.”
Or as the Blue Tornado’s Lawrence said, “This is what you dream about, playing your rival for all the chips.”
Bradford has seen the good and the bad throughout this McCallie season. He chuckled Tuesday afternoon as he recalled his first year running the program.
“Yeah, there have been a few times when I’ve said, ‘Man, what an idiot. Bad call,” he said with a smile.
But he also said this: “Look at this game. Huge rivals. And we’re playing in Chattanooga at Finley Stadium with a state championship on the line. What could be better than that?”
(Contact Mark Wiedmer at mwiedmer@mccallie.org)