Brookwood freshman Braden Tyson scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 9-yard run with 6:16 remaining and the Broncos’ defense made the one-point lead stand up for a 21-20 victory over McEachern in the teams’ season opener Saturday in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
The Broncos, who previously had led for only six minutes and at one point trailed 20-7, drove 80 yards in eight plays for the winning score after taking possession following a missed 52-yard field goal by McEachern. Tyson’s touchdown run tied the game at 20, and Caitlyn Soroka kicked the extra point. Tyson finished his first high school game with 93 yards on 16 carries.
“He’s phenomenal,” Brookwood coach Philip Jones said. “You saw what we’ve seen every day in practice. With him and our offensive line, you saw a little return to old-school Brookwood, just running the ball well, especially to close the game out.”
McEachern, in its first game under new head coach Kareem Reid, got the ball two more times near midfield in the final six minutes but never got close enough to attempt a potential game-winning field goal. Indians quarterback Jaydon Kinney threw an incomplete pass out the back of the end zone from the Brookwood 44 on the final play of the game.
McEachern took a 20-7 lead midway through the third quarter on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Kinney to Terry Wilson to cap off a five-play, 70-yard drive. Brookwood answered quickly on its next possession, driving 80 yards in four plays to cut the lead to 20-14 on a 48-yard pass from CJ Franklin to Lee Niles with 4:44 to play in the quarter.
Niles was the game’s leading receiver with 104 yards on four catches. Franklin split time at quarterback with Matt Peavy, and they combined for 121 passing yards. Franklin was 2-for-5, and Peavy was 7-for-12. The Broncos finished with 309 total yards.
“It was a typical first game,” Jones said. “There were a lot of mistakes and a lot of want-to and effort. We were down two scores and things were looking pretty grim there in the third quarter, but all the credit in the world to our guys and their grit and their mental toughness for continuing to believe that something good was about to happen.”
McEachern had 274 yards of offense. Kinney was 18-for-27 passing for 158 yards and two touchdowns, and Demarcus Cleaves ran for 69 yards on 16 carries.
Both teams enjoyed good field position in the first quarter, but the offenses were inconsistent and neither team was able to capitalize.
Brookwood finally broke through on the first play of the second quarter after taking possession at the McEachern 29 after a fumble recovery and 14-yard return by Michael Barlow, The Broncos needed just three plays to score from there, taking a 7-0 lead on a 22-yard run by Cam French with 11:53 to play in the half.
McEachern responded two possessions later with the best drive of the half by either team. The Indians went 73 yards on eight plays, tying the game on a 9-yard pass from Kinney to Kayden Peterson.
McEachern’s Jon Rodriguez kicked field goals of 22 and 34 yards in the final two minutes of the half for a 13-7 lead.
The first field goal, set up by an interception by Dy’lon Wormack, came after McEachern had first-and-goal at the Brookwood 1-yard line. The first two plays netted no yardage, and a touchdown run by Kinney on third down was negated by a 15-yard penalty.
Brookwood - 0-7-7-7 - 21
McEachern - 0-13-7-0 - 20
Second quarter
B - Cam French 22 run (Caitlyn Soroka kick), 11:53
M - Kayden Peterson 9 pass from Jaydon Kinney (Jon Rodriguez kick), 5:03
M - Rodriguez 22 field goal, 1:44
M - Rodriguez 34 field goal, 0:27
Third quarter
M - Terry Wilson 17 pass from McKinney (Rodriguez kick), 6:02
B - Lee Niles 48 pass from CJ Franklin (Soroka kick), 4:44
Fourth quarter
B - Braden Tyson 9 run (Soroka kick), 6:16
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