CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – Thursday night football, the first high school football game of 2025 in true fall weather, and two region rivals battling on the field. All the ingredients were in place for Silverdale and Boyd Buchanan to create another classic and for the first 24 minutes it looked that way. The Buccaneers went on a 28-0 run that began near the end of the first half and cruised to a 49-28 victory over the Seahawks at David Boyd Field.

Silverdale coaches Chris Warnat (white shirt) and Mike Connor before kickoff

Both teams went three and out on their first offensive possessions, but Zach Gilbert got a hand on the Seahawks’ punt and the Buccaneers set up shop at the SBA 30 yard line. David Green would give us a small glimpse of his evening on this drive, first with a 25 yard run down to the 5 yard line. TJ McReynolds would end the short drive with a touchdown run to give Boyd Buchanan an early 7-0 lead with 9:10 to go in the first quarter. Silverdale would put together a drive and answered the Bucs’ score with one of their own on a 2 yard Tate Standefer run to tie it up at 7-7. Green and his crew would back to work on a 79 yard drive. A 36 yard Green run, followed shortly by a 9 yard run, got the Buccaneers down to the 1 yard line. Number 5 in blue and gold rushed in from a yard out to give his team the a 14-7 lead. Seahawks’ signal caller Connor Jenne would complete a strike to Luke Bowman, who raced in from 52 yards out and going into the second quarter, Silverdale and Boyd Buchanan were knotted up at 14-14.

Silverdale was on the move once again and looking for their first lead of the night. Cody Davenport would rip off a 13 yard run to get to midfield, but the drive stalled just outside of the Boyd Buchanan 20 yard line and Jack Mauser pushed a 36 yard field goal attempt wide. The Bucs would drive back down the field, but Bowman hauled in an interception in the endzone to stop the threat. Jenne and the Seahawk offense would cash in on the turnover when he found Cannon Rogers on the far sideline for a 63 yard touchdown strike to give Silverdale the lead 21-14 with 5:22 to go until halftime. Justin McGoy’s 69 yard run on the first play of the next Buccaneers’ drive would even the score up once again. Then, Gary Rankin’s defense would get a turnover of their own when the Bucs recovered a Silverdale fumble at the SBA 46. Green would cover the final 19 yards of the drive for his second score of the half to give his team the lead back at 28-21 with 1:21 left in the first half. The first half ended with Silverdale threatening to close the gap or tie the game again. Davenport had an 18 yard run on 4th and short to move the ball to the Boyd Buchanan 21. Jenne found Tanner Bayne on the final play of the first half, but Green made arguably the biggest play of the game and tackle Bayne at the 3 yard line.

Silverdale punted on the first possession of the second half, with the ball rolling down to the 1 yard line. That didn’t seem to bother the blue and gold clad Buccaneers as they went 99 yards in 10 plays, with the final 3 yards coming on a McReynolds run to push the Boyd Buchanan advantage to 35-21 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter. The Bucs’ defense would hold on fourth down on the next Seahawks’ possession and give the offense the ball back at their 40 yard line going into the 4th quarter.

McGoy’s 22 yard scamper 51 seconds into the final quarter extended the Bucs’ lead to 42-21 with 11:09 left on the clock. Rogers would get loose again on the far sideline on the ensuing drive when Jenne found him on a 67 yard touchdown pass to get Silverdale within 2 possessions, trailing 42-28 with 9:36 left in the game. The game was in hand but Green made sure any door to a comeback was closed when he added his third touchdown of the game with a 4 yard run with 1:31 left to give the Buccaneers’ a 49-28 lead. Green ran for 223 yards and three touchdowns and Bucs had 447 total rushing yards as a team.

Boyd Buchanan head coach Gary Rankin addresses his team after the Bucs’ 49-28 win over Silverdale

Boyd Buchanan moves to 7-0 on the season and 5-0 in the Division II-AA East Region; the Buccaneers will have a bye week coming up. Silverdale falls to 4-4 on the year and 3-2 in the region; the Seahawks will also have a bye week coming up