December 4, 2019 | The Clarion
Page 7
2019 ECAC champions!
main strengths,” said Coach Khayat about his
record-setting defensive backfield. “This year,
we have added the element to stop the run, so
now when teams get into a situation to throw
the ball, things are going to go in our favor.”
Coach Khayat’s offense got off to the fast
start that it had been looking for, as Brevard’s
eight-play, 72-yard drive was capped off with
Cole’s first of two touchdown passes on the
afternoon, as the sophomore connected with
Bennett for a seven-yard score. Damalos’ extra
point gave BC the lead, 7-0, with 10:04 left in
the first quarter.
“The spark came from starting off to a good
start with a solid opening drive,” stated Coach
Khayat on his offense’s hot start. “At times this
year, we have struggled to get out of the gate
offensively because the opponent had put out
something that we hadn’t seen yet on film. This
time, it didn’t matter what was brought out by
Carnegie Mellon, our guys were just going to
take it to them and sort things out as we went
along. Our offense really made a statement on
that first drive that we are here to play and it
fired up the rest of the team.”
Brevard’s defense, led by Defensive
Coordinator Luke Jaicks, forced a three-and-
out on Carnegie Mellon’s first possession,
forcing a punt. The Tartan defense followed
suit to force a three-and-out of its own, giving
CMU the ball inside Brevard territory at the
7:01 mark.
The Tartans capitalized on their good field
position, as CMU’s Brandon Nguyen hit a 45-
yard field goal to cut into Brevard’s first-quarter
lead, 7-3, with 5:51 left to play in the game’s
first period.
On the Tornados’ ensuing possession,
Brevard was able to drive into CMU territory.
However, a Tartan sack halted EC’s drive,
forcing a punt attempt. On Carnegie Mellon’s
first play of its next possession, BC standout
freshman Tate picked off CMU quarterback
Ben Armbreaster, returning the interception
30 yards for the touchdown score. It marked
Tate’s second pick-six of the 2019 season and
pushed Brevard’s lead to a 14-3 mark following
the Damalos extra point.
Back-to-back sacks on CMU’s next
possession forced a quick three-and-out,
as the game’s MVP Canady was in on both
sacks while Jerome Bass - who was named
to D3Football.corn’s “Team of the Week” last
week - assisted on one of the two takedowns.
Carnegie Mellon found the end zone for
the first time on the afternoon following a
Continued from page 6
Brevard fumble. The Tartans put together a
seven-play, 40-yard drive that ended with a
Luke Bikulege touchdown run. The touchdown
ended Brevard’s no-touchdown allowed streak
that had reached an impressive 13 quarters
before CMU’s second-quarter score, as the
Tornados remained on top, 14-10.
After a Brevard punt on its next drive. Special
Teams Coordinator Jeron Gouveia-Winslow’s
unit dialed up another big play in what has been
a season full of crucial moments. Scales Jr.
broke through the line on CMU’s punt attempt,
blocking the kick as Roman III scooped-and-
scored to extend Brevard’s advantage, 21-10.
That lead would hold true through the rest of
the second quarter, as the Tornados held an
11-point advantage at intermission.
The Tartans opened up the second half of
action with a promising drive that ended in a
30-yard field goal. Brevard’s defense was able
to limit the damage, halting CMU’s drive in the
red zone to force the field goal attempt that cut
into EC’s lead, 21-13.
On the very first offensive play of the second
half, Brevard’s Bennett took a toss and was off
to the races, scampering for an 81-yard rushing
touchdown that added onto the big day that
Assistant Head Coach Eric Gallon’s stable of
running backs had. Damalos’ point-after-try
was true to push Brevard’s lead to 28-13.
Brevard’s Brandon Norris returned CMU’s
next punt 19 yards to set up the Tornado offense
inside CMU territory on its ensuing possession.
After a Damon Rouse nine-yard run on 2nd-
and-11. Cole connected with Parks near the
first down marker. Parks turned on the jets,
darting towards pay dirt to extend Brevard’s
advantage to 35-13.
The Tartans scored off an 18-yard touchdown
pass on their next drive, adding on a two-point
conversion to cut Brevard’s advantage to 14
points at 35-21 with 5:11 remaining in the
third quarter.
Brevard answered right back, scoring its
third touchdown of the third quarter when
freshman running back Mitchell Yoder took a
46-yard rush to the house. Yoder’s touchdown
run marked the first of the Columbus, North
Carolina native’s career, and Damalos’ sixth
extra point of the afternoon pushed Brevard’s
lead up to a 21-point advantage, 42-21.
After a CMU punt, Brevard was poised to
extend its lead before the Tartans came up
with a field goal block on a 39-yard field goal
attempt just after the beginning of the fourth
quarter. However, propelled by a Williams Jr.
sack, Brevard’s defense forced yet another
three-and-out on the Tartans.
Following a BC punt on the Tornados’
ensuing possession, Brevard’s Tate snagged
the second of his two interceptions on the
afternoon on Carnegie Mellon’s first play of
its next drive, as Brevard had possession and a
commanding 21-point lead with 9:30 remaining
in the postseason contest.
Carnegie Mellon had a promising seven-play,
40-yard drive halted on fourth down when
CMU quarterback Matthew O’Hea’s pass fell
incomplete after a Travon Ford quarterback
hurry.
Back-to-back Brevard drives were halted by
turnovers, giving the Tartans extra possessions
to attempt to climb back in the contest. EC’s
defense forced a tumover-on-downs following
Brevard’s first turnover of the game, but a late
Tornado fumble turned into a CMU touchdown
when O’Hea completed his second touchdown
of the game, cutting Brevard’s lead to 42-28.
The Tornados used their potent ground game
to chew time off the clock on their ensuing
drive, milking the clock down enough to
prevent CMU from scoring. Brevard’s 42-28
triumph over Carnegie Mellon clinched the
program’s first postseason victory in its first-
ever postseason bowl game.
With the victory, Brevard College concludes
its historic 2019 campaign that saw several
records and milestones shattered.
The 2019 Tornado team won eight games -
the most by a Brevard College football team
in the school’s history - in the 2019 season,
trumping the 2009 squad’s previous program-
record seven victories. School records were
also set this season with a .800 winning
percentage and five league victories in USA
South Conference play. Moreover, BC went
5-1 in road games this season, which also set a
school record for road wins in the NCAA-era.
The Tornados finished second in a USA South
Conference that they were predicted to finish
sixth in by the league’s preseason coaches’ poll.
Following the Scotty Whitelaw Bowl,
Brevard finishes the 2019 regular season on a
five-game win streak dating back to October
26. Dating back to October 27, 2018, Coach
Khayat’s squad has won 11 out of its last 14
contests.
Brevard’s defense far-and-away led its
See 'Champions!' on page 8