Baylor Rallies To Beat Ensworth, 35-21

Briggs Cherry Tosses 3 TDs As Red Raiders Come From Behind To Win

The Baylor Red Raiders have had more than their share of offensive highlights this fall while winning their first eight games without a loss.  They had a few more on Friday night at Heywood Stadium/E.B. "Red" Etter Field, but the results were more important than individual play.

With their come-from-behind 35-21 victory over the Ensworth Tigers, Baylor clinches the region title at 4-0.  Ensworth is now 6-3 overall and 3-1 in D-II-AAA East region play.

Baylor's offense has been really good all fall and they were really good again as they had seven total offensive possessions where they scored five touchdowns, punted once and then ran out the clock at the end.

Baylor coach Erik Kimrey said before the game that he was most concerned about stopping the Ensworth running game.  The Tigers had 146 yards on 26 attempts in the first half, but the Baylor defense made a few key adjustments and limited the Nashville visitors to just 58 in the second half when they were playing from behind.

"Congratulations, guys! You are the region champions," Kimrey began his post-game comments to his team.

"That was a tough game, but we knew it would be.  But even at the start when we were down 14-0, we didn't panic.  Our offense was really efficient.  We had seven possessions and scored five touchdowns and punted only once.  And I was also proud of how our defense adjusted.

"But this is an accomplishment to be proud of.  It was an awkward game at times, but give Ensworth credit for a hard-played game," Kimrey added.

Ensworth won the coin toss and chose to receive.

Justin Hopkins, who ended the game with five kick returns for 103 yards, put his team in business with a 31-yarder at the start, giving his team first down at the 45.  It took just over four minutes for the Tigers to march downfield, taking a 7-0 lead on a four-yard pass from quarterback Taylor Hasselbeck to Blake Surratt.  Mateo Scala's kick made it 7-0 with 7:43 left in the opening period.

The Tigers then pulled a surprise move with an onside kick that Quinn Taylor recovered at the 46.  Again, it didn't take long as Ensworth marched 46 yards in seven plays for the second TD on a one-yard blast by E.J. Gibson, Scala's kick putting the visitors ahead 14-0 with 4:52 showing and before Baylor's offense had run its first play.

Baylor quarterback Briggs Cherry then tossed the first of three TD passes, this one covering 47 yards to Kaiden Dewey with 3:01 left in the first.  Sam Shutters then booted the first of five extra points and all of a sudden, we had an interesting game.

Kolby Barrett picked off the first of three passes from Hasselbeck early in the second quarter and David Gabriel-Georges made it count with a 67-yard run on the second play with 8:17 left in the half.

Ensworth turned the ball over on downs on its next possession when Hasselbeck's pass on fourth-and-4 was incomplete.  Baylor then moved 54 yards in seven plays with Gabriel-Georges getting his second TD on a three-yard run, putting Baylor ahead for the first time at 21-14 with 1:56 left in the half.

Baylor got the second-half kickoff and needed just two plays to score, Cherry hooking up with Jamyan Theodore on a 32-yard pitch and catch for a 28-14 lead with 11:33 left in the third quarter.

The Tigers got within a score when Hasselbeck threw a one-yard pass to Eli Witt with 7:12 in the third, but it never got any closer as the Baylor defense got two more interceptions from Theodore and Dewey to prevent any other scoring threats.

Baylor finished the game with 454 total yards, including 247 through the air and 207 on the ground.

Theodore was the leading receiver with four catches for 118 yards and two TDs while Dewey also had four grabs for 69 yards and a touchdown.

Gabriel-Georges finished another outstanding effort totaling 196 yards on 17 carries and two TDs.  The talented junior may have had extra incentive to play well as Ohio State head coach Ryan Day was in attendance.

Ensworth finished with 326 total yards that included 204 on the ground and 122 through the air.

Gibson had 166 yards on 21 carries and the one touchdown.  Hopkins had three catches for 33 yards while Gibson also had four grabs for 28.

Baylor will be at home again next week as they host Knoxville Catholic in their final regular-season game on Thursday.

ENSWORTH  14  0  7  0 – 21

BAYLOR  7  14  14  0  --  35

ENS – Blake Surratt 4 pass from Taylor Hasselbeck (Mateo Scala kick), 7:43 left in first;

ENS – E.J. Gibson 1 run (Scala kick), 4:52 left in first;

BAY – Kaiden Dewey 47 pass from Briggs Cherry (Sam Shutters kick), 3:01 left in first;

BAY – David Gabriel-Georges 67 run (Shutters kick), 8:17 left in second;

BAY – Gabriel-Georges 3 run (Shutters kick), 1:56 left in second;

BAY – Jamyan Theodore 32 pass from Cherry (Shutters kick), 11:33 left in third;

ENS – Eli Wilt 1 pass from Hasselbeck (Scala kick), 7:12 left in third;

BAY – Theodore 27 pass from Cherry (Shutters kick), 1:48 left in third.

TEAM STATS:                                 ENSWORTH          BAYLOR

First Downs                                              21                       18

Rushes-Yards                                      39-204                 20-207

Passing Yards                                        122                      247

Total Yards                                              326                     454

Passes (Comp-Att-Int)                        15-25-3                14-18-0

Penalties-Yards                                     7-50                    10-85

Fumbles-Lost                                         0-0                        0-0

Punts-Average                                      2-47.5                 1-29.0

INDIVIDUAL STATS:

ENSWORTH RUSHING: E.J. Gibson – 27 carries for 166 yards and one TD; Bishop Starling – 2 for 16;

ENSWORTH RECEIVING: E.J. Gibson – four catches for 28 yards; Justin Hopkins – 3 for 33; Nelson Butler – one for 1 with one TD;

ENSWORTH PASSING: Taylor Hasselbeck – 15 of 25 for 122 yards with two TDs and three interceptions.

BAYLOR RUSHING: David Gabriel-Georges – 17 carries for 196 yards and two TDs; Jack Ferguson – 2 for 11; Briggs Cherry – 1 for 11;

BAYLOR RECEIVING: Jamyan Theodore – four catches for 118 yards and two TDs; Kaden Dewey – 4 for 69 and one TD; David Gabriel-Georges – 3 for 23;

BAYLOR PASSING: Briggs Cherry – 14 of 18 for 247 yards, three TDs and no interceptions.

RECORDS: Baylor 8-0 overall, 4-0 in D-II-AAA East; Ensworth 6-3 overall, 3-1 in region.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)
Baylor Rallies To Beat Ensworth, 35-21 - Chattanoogan.com
 

Big thanks to the Baylor community for showing up in pink and packing Heywood Stadium last night — what a scene! Your energy helped push the Red Raiders to back-to-back East Region Championships! The journey's not over yet — we'll need that same energy next week for Senior Night as we celebrate our incredible seniors and their families.

#WeAreBaylor