October 9, 2019 I The Clarion
Sports
Page 7
Tornados improve record to 3-0
By Joseph Marvin
Assistant Sports Information Director
The Brevard College Tornados Football
team (3-0, 1-0 USAS) upended the defending
USA South Conference champion Maryville
College Scots (0-4,0-1 USAS) by a final score
of 22-10 on Homecoming at Brevard Memorial
Stadium. The win halted a seven-game USA
South win streak for the Scots who had gone a
perfect 7-0 in USA South play in 2018.
With the win, Brevard remained undefeated
through three games this season - the best start
for a Tornado team since 2009. Dating back to
last season, Brevard has now won five straight
overall and home contests.
Saturday’s defeat was Maryville’s first in
conference action since former USA South
member institution Ferrum College defeated
the Scots, 31-24 on November 11, 2017.
“For a Homecoming game, we hosted the
undefeated reigning champs of the USA
South in Maryville - a team that hasn’t lost
a conference game since 2017,” commented
Head Coach Bill Khayat following his team’s
big win. “We knew that it would take a
monumental effort to get the victory today.”
That monumental effort was shown with
a clutch offense that capitalized on its
opportunities, a stingy defense that forced
two turnovers, and a special teams unit that
made several big plays including a fumble
recovery touchdown and eight total points from
the kicking unit.
Offensively, sophomore quarterback Dalton
Cole finished with 10 completions and 121
passing yards, finding fellow sophomore
running back Damon Rouse on a critical 19-
yard strike midway through the fourth quarter
for the Tornados. Wide receiver Brandon
Norris hauled in a game-long 36-yard catch
for Brevard.
A gritty defensive effort for the Tornados led
to a total of eight tackles-for-loss, two sacks,
two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery
touchdown and one interception in total.
Linebacker Steffon Canady led the way for
Brevard with a game-high nine tackles, igniting
the Tornado pass rush with a big 13-yard sack.
Junior defensive back Andreas Wyatt was
credited with eight tackles, 1.5 tackles-for-
loss and a forced fumble that led to a Brevard
defensive score. Eddie Dean tied a team-high
with 1.5 tackle-for-loss, while senior Brandon
Crawford recorded BC’s lone other sack.
Freshman defensive back Rook Tate
recovered a fumble for a touchdown, while
fellow freshman Jerome Bass forced another
fumble that was recovered by the Maryville
offense. Chris Diaz capped off an impressive
defensive effort for Brevard by securing his
first-career interception, all but sealing the
decision up for the Tornados.
“A lot of those interceptions, pass breakups
and tackles for loss and short gain is credited
to our experience in the defensive secondary
and what Coach Jaicks (Defensive Coordinator)
can do with the gameplan to keep Maryville off-
balance,” stated Coach Khayat on his defense’s
efforts. “Our defense was playing lights out
there at the end, and we caused Maryville to
get out of their element.”
Brevard placekicker Stamati Damalos was
2-for-2 on his field-goal attempts, putting
Brevard on the board to end the first half with
his first attempt and putting the contest out
of reach with his second attempt late in the
fourth quarter.
Jaxon Youngblood - the reigning USA South
Conference Football Special Teams Player of
the Week and a selection on D3football.corn’s
Team of the Week - booted a new career-best
58-yard punt to flip field position. Youngblood
pinned the Scots within their own 20-yard line
twice.
Special Teams Coordinator Jeron Gouveia-
Winslow’s unit applied immense pressure on
the Scots throughout the contest, as evident
from a fumble recovery touchdown midway
through the third quarter.
Adding to the aforementioned special teams’
contributions were some big returns by the
second line of BC return men. Freshman
running back Gerald Hines took advantage of
Maryville’s shorter kickoffs, returning three
kicks for a total of 85 yards, including a big
43-yard return.
“The style of play for our special teams is
always to be aggressive,” added Coach Khayat.
“We had them a little rattled, and once they
make one error and you jump on top of it,
the errors keep coming. We were able to take
advantage of their errors every single time.”
Both teams traded their first two possessions
of the contest as both sides attempted to
establish their identity on offense. The Scots
struck first, grinding out a big 16-play, 82-yard
drive that resulted in a touchdown run from
linebacker-tumed-quarterback Caleb Harbin. A
three-year quarterback in high school, Harbin
made his first start for the Scots under center,
completing 17 passes for 100 total yards.
Following a three-and-out by Brevard’s
offense, Youngblood booted his new career-
long 58-yard punt that was downed at the
Maryville 15 yard line. The Scots were unable
to dig out of the deep field position hole,
punting the ball right back to the Tornados with
4:47 remaining in the second quarter.
The Tornados ate up the rest of the second
quarter, using Norris’ big 36-yard catch to
kickstart a nine-play, 72-yard drive that reached
all the way down to the visitor’s one-yard
See 'Tornados improve record' on page 8
BC special teams celebrates a touchdown.