McCallie Rallies Past Baylor To Remain Unbeaten

BY JEFF CATE (TEAM FYN SPORTS CONTRIBUTOR) – The top 2 teams in Division II-AAA in the state of Tennessee, a rivalry game that dates back to the early 1900’s, Spears Stadium packed to the gills (and beyond), one side red and one side blue, and you have the ingredients on paper for another classic matchup in the Baylor-McCallie rivalry. All those things and then some came together in what was comparable to a heavyweight fight with both fighters, in blue and red trunks, going blow-by-blow for all 12 rounds, with McCallie coming from behind to defeat Baylor 34-31 Friday night.

Nearly 7 minutes into this edition of the rivalry, both defenses set the tone. That is until Whit Muschamp rolled out to the far sideline, buying enough time to find Amari Jefferson behind the McCallie secondary and racing 55 yards for the first points of the night and a 7-0 Baylor lead with 5:10 left in the first quarter.

The Blue Tornado answered on their next possession, tying the game at 7-7 on a Ja’Von McMahan 2-yard touchdown run. The momentum McCallie lasted a lengthy 12 seconds as Shekai Mills-Knight raced 80 yards on the first play of Baylor’s next possession and the Red Raiders took the lead back 14-7, which would be the score at the end of the first quarter.

Carson Lawrence made his presence known less than 4 minutes into the second quarter with a one-handed catch from Jay St. Hilaire in the corner of the end zone. Baylor clung to the lead 14-13 after a bobbled snap on the PAT kept the Big Blue from tying the game with 8:07 left in the second quarter.

McMahan would get his second rushing touchdown of the first half when he found an opening behind his offensive line and broke 3 tackles on his way to paydirt, giving McCallie the lead back at 19-14 with 1:35 to go until halftime (the 2-point conversion was no good). Blue Tornado momentum after a touchdown was once again ended quickly by Baylor as Muschamp led the Red Raiders down the field in about a minute and found Zane Restelli from 26 yards out to give the Big Red a 21-19 lead, which they would take to the half.

Both teams would trade interceptions to begin the third quarter, Lawrence for McCallie and Joel Lowenberg for Baylor. Lowenberg’s pick gave Baylor the ball at the McCallie 11-yard line. The drive stalled but the Red Raiders got points on a 25-yard Cooper Keown field goal and giving Baylor a 24-19 lead with 4:40 to go in the third quarter, and that would be the score going into the fourth quarter.

Baylor had McCallie inside their 10-yard line and looked to have sacked St. Hilaire, who fumbled and was recovered by the Red Raiders defense inside the 5 yard-line. But the officials ruled St. Hilaire’s arm was moving forward, therefore an incomplete pass and several exhales from the blue clad Blue Tornado. McMahan would get his third rushing touchdown of the game when he raced in from 18 yards out with 8:12 to go in the game, giving McCallie their first lead since late in the second quarter 27-24 (McMahan converted the 2-point attempt). The defending state champions were not going to go away quietly, and they showed that on the next Red Raider possession. Muschamp found Jefferson again, this time from 9 yards out and Baylor retook the lead 31-27 with 5:47 to go.

Momentum now was on Baylor’s side and what would McCallie do? They would do the same thing that was done to them at different points in the first half as St. Hilaire connected with Enrique Jaimes Leclair 11 seconds later on a 80 yard bomb and retaking the lead 34-31 with 5:36 left in the game.

“It was phenomenal, just phenomenal”, McCallie head coach Ralph Potter said of the St. Hilaire-Leclair touchdown. “That was a great call by Coach (Joel) Bradford, who came up with that concept, and Jay put it where it was supposed to be.”

Lawrence would get his second interception on Baylor’s next possession, picking off Muschamp and giving the Blue Tornado offense the ball back with 2:34 to go and hoping to run the clock out. McCallie would do just that when McMahan rushed for a first down on a third and short. Baylor would use their remaining timeouts but it wasn’t enough as St. Hilaire would take a few knees, 0:00 hit the scoreboard, and the turf at Pete Potter Field was covered with blue and white clad McCallie students, players, and fans.

“It was amazing, I got to process it”, Potter said soon after the victory. “When you go through a game like this, you’re struggling so much. You’re trying to find something that’ll work on offense and defense. Then it’s over and it takes you a minute to relive it. It’s a lot of fun to win a game like this”.

McCallie (7-0) and Baylor (5-2) both have byes next week before returning to action on 10/13. The Blue Tornado will host Father Ryan while Baylor takes on Life Academy (VA) at home.

Follow Jeff Cate on “X” at @TheJeffCate