Muschamp Leads Baylor Past Christian Brothers
Senior Quarterback Tosses 4 TDs In 49-7 Romp
The Baylor Red Raiders had a bye in last week's opening round of the TSSAA football playoffs and head coach Erik Kimrey was a bit concerned about how that week off might have a negative impact on the way his kids played Friday night against Christian Brothers.
Kimrey didn't have to worry long as his squad came out and took care of business in a quick and timely manner, racing to a 42-0 lead in the first half before advancing with a convincing 49-7 victory.
Baylor had thumped the Purple Wave by a 48-9 final on Sept. 15, so Friday's result at Heywood Stadium/E.B. "Red" Etter Field was similar as the Red Raiders won their fourth straight game since the loss to McCallie on the last Friday in September.
Baylor will be at home again next Friday to face Knoxville Catholic after the Fighting Irish upended Memphis University School 31-28. It will be the second time these two teams have met as Baylor won 42-0 on Oct. 27.
As you might expect in a lopsided game like this one, the clock was running non-stop in the second half, so the final two quarters were completed in about 30 minutes.
Kimrey knows that his team is playing quality football right now and he just hopes that habit will continue for at least two more games.
"That was just another solid performance by our football team. You always worry how they will react with a week off, but they came out ready to play tonight," Kimrey said after his team improved to 9-2 for the season.
"Our toughest games are still ahead, but our defense has been playing well and they make it tough on the other team when they play like they did tonight. I'm sure there are some things we can clean up, but it's hard to complain about a performance like this," he smiled.
Chris Brown took over as the defensive coordinator after Kimrey was hired two spring s ago. He could only smile when asked about the way his guys played on Friday.
"Our kids played hard, but they take a lot of pride in our defense and have really gotten in the habit of attacking people. It's a real pleasure to watch them perform as the just continue to get better as a unit," he expressed.
Baylor's defense didn't score any touchdowns in this latest romp, but they did recover a couple of fumbles that did lead to two TDs.
Christopher Farnham, a freshman linebacker, got the first when he covered a bobble by Christian Brothers quarterback William Kreitz at the 6 with 3:14 left in the first half.
Shekai Mills-Knight scored on the next play and the difference was 21-0 at the 2:59 mark.
Then early in the third quarter, feeshman Briggs Hoewischer covered another bobble by the slender quarterback at the 15. Baylor was flagged for a personal foul on the second play, but it didn't matter as sophomore quarterback Briggs Cherry tossed a 22-yard TD pass to Zane Restelli for a 49-0 lead with 4:43 left in the third.
The Purple Wave scored their only touchdown and had their only positive drive of the game following the Baylor kickoff. Kreitz completed three straight passes for 65 yards before John Goodwin bulled his way into the end zone from the 1 with 10:17 to play.
Baylor was forced to punt for the only time in the game on its second possession, but otherwise was really efficient on offense as they scored touchdowns on their other six times with the ball.
Senior Whit Muschamp, who got to watch from the sidelines in the second half, completed 11 of 13 passes in the first 24 minutes for four touchdowns, including three to standout receiver Amari Jefferson covering 17, 70 and 36 yards.
Jefferson finished the game with six grabs for 156 yards as Christian Brothers simply didn't have a defender who could cover him.
Baylor finished the game with 365 total yards, including 314 through the air and another 51 on the ground. The Purple Wave was limited to 125 total yards, including 86 yards through the air and 39 on the ground.
Christian Brothers ends its season at 6-5
Muschamp Leads Baylor Past Christian Brothers - Chattanoogan.com
