With 2 games left, BHS is district’s top seed

 
By Steve Bowman
Editor, The Brentwood Spirit
Email: bowmansj@sbcglobal.net

For leaders of a team that has outscored its opponents by an average margin of 46 points, the coaches of the Brentwood High School football team looked a little worried on Friday night. The first quarter was almost over, BHS led Lift for Life by only 2 points and the Hawks had the momentum.

Anthony Smith had sacked Brentwood quarterback Skylar Sappington on fourth down at midfield, and it had taken the Hawks only two plays to score. They were acting as if they didn’t care that they were the heavy underdog.

Brentwood needed something and got what turned out to be the turning point of the game. The Hawks kicked off and Justice Harris ran the ball up the middle as planned, found a gigantic hole and scored without being touched. He said the key block was a mismatch: four Eagles on one Hawk.

“It was just four guys on one person and I took the open hole,” said Harris. “The hole couldn’t get any bigger so I just ran through it. Jordon [Tate] , Brian [Hutton], Rob [Bax] and someone else got the block. No one touched me.”

The big play seemed to tame the Hawks. They never got closer than 35 yards to the goal line for the rest of the first half, trailed 42-6 at halftime and lost 60-12. It was Brentwood’s homecoming.

It was a night of playmaking for Harris. He also caught a 26-yard touchdown pass from Skylar Sappington and intercepted two passes. After the second one he jogged off the field with five fingers held up. His five interceptions tie teammate Kaylon Jenkins for the second highest total in the St. Louis area.

‘Ain’t nothing you can do’

Two picks in a game is great. Four quarterback sacks in a game are astounding. That’s what defensive end Brian Hutton did to the Hawks. It’s actually his second four-sack game. The 220-pound senior leads the St. Louis area with 16 sacks.

It seemed as if he and his teammates were in the backfield on almost every play, especially lineman Demetrius Graves and defensive backs Corey Carroll and Joe Clay. Graves and Carroll each had a sack and Carroll and Clay combined for 24 tackles. Adding to the chaos were numerous long snaps sailing over Lift for Life quarterback Randy Love’s head, which Hutton believes the Eagles caused.

“Once they saw our blitz go, they got scared,” said Hutton. “All the D-line blitzing, all the linebacker blitzing, all the D-back blitzing — ain’t nothing you can do. We just put the heat on.”

Graves scores his first TD

Another big play came in the second quarter when senior defensive lineman Demetrius Graves scored the first touchdown of his career. Bax blocked a Lift for Life punt and the ball hit the grass and bounced directly to Graves. He caught it in stride and ran 39 yards to the end zone.

“It was a perfect bounce into my hands,” said Graves, laughing. “I had to make up for my missed interception against Sumner.”

Nothing is more entertaining to a lineman than to see his lineman teammate score. Asked for his impression of the play, Hutton shouted, “I saw an old man running, number 51!”

Clay and Jenkins

The dramatic plays were fun but the game was actually won in the trenches, with Jacob Clay and Kaylon Jenkins combining to rush 28 times for 209 yards and five touchdowns. Luke Tilton and Rob Bax also carried some of the load.

Injured Hawk

The game ended on a sobering note, with a Lift for Life player being strapped to a board and taken away in an ambulance. Brentwood coach Keith Herring said on Sunday evening that “He’s up walking around now” but “still taking it slow.”

According to a witness at the game, the player had gotten up after being hit on a play but had fallen back down. He lay motionless on his back and was unresponsive as he was tended to by paramedics. Brentwood players gathered around the paramedics, held hands and prayed while the young man was on the field.

“Our players were really concerned,” said Herring. “I was proud of them. That’s a tough team, very athletic and physical. We lost one of our guys in this game last year – Joe Clay went out with a concussion.”

Top seed in district
As of Oct. 5, Brentwood is the No. 1 seed in the district, with the district playoffs starting Oct. 23. (See complete seeding below.) The Eagles have a slight lead over No. 2 Trinity Catholic and No. 3 Lutheran North. Those teams play each other on Oct. 9. On Oct. 16 Trinity plays Jennings (2-5) and Lutheran North plays St. Mary’s (1-6).

Scoring Summary
Brentwood (7-0): 15-27-12-06 — 60
Lift for Life (3-4) : 06-00-00-06 — 12

First-quarter scoring, key plays

Brentwood: Kaylon Jenkins 24-yard run; Demetrius Graves run
Score: 8-0, 8:33
Key plays: On the Hawks’ previous possession, Brian Hutton’s tackle for a 9-yard loss on third down, followed by Justice Harris’s interception and return to the 50-yard line; Jenkins’s 18-yard run.

Lift for Life: Marlon Lawson 22-yard pass from Randy Love Jr.; run failed
Score: 8-6, 1:35
Key plays: On Brentwood’s previous possession, Anthony Smith’s sack of Skylar Sappington on fourth and 14 at midfield; Darrion Glover’s 29-yard run; Joe Clay’s big stop on the 2-point attempt.

Brentwood: Justice Harris 83-yard kickoff return; Rob Bax kick
Score: 15-6, 1:22

Second-quarter scoring, key plays

Brentwood: Jacob Clay 3-yard run; Rob Bax kick
Score: 22-6, 10:50
Key play: Jacob Clay 22-yard run

Brentwood: Jacob Clay 1-yard run; run failed
Score: 28-6, 4:50
Key plays: On the Hawks’ previous possession, Brian Hutton’s sack followed by pressure from Demetrius Graves and Corey Carroll on fourth down that gave Brentwood the ball at midfield; Jacob Clay’s 12-yard run and Rob Bax’s 9-yard run.

Brentwood: Demetrius Graves fumble recovery and 39-yard return on punt blocked by Rob Bax; Bax kick
Score: 35-6, 2:44
Key play: On Lift for Life’s previous possession, Brian Hutton’s sack for 15-yard loss.
Bax: “I had been getting real close [to blocking punts] all night. I was rushing from the outside and I went through some guy and just decided to dive. I was in the air and a guy pushed me down and I landed on my back and my head whiplashed.”

Brentwood: Jacob Clay 22-yard run; Rob Bax kick
Score: 42-6, 0:39
Key play: Corey Carroll’s and Tayveon Brown’s tackle on fourth and 1 to give the Eagles the ball on the Hawks’ 31.

2015 homecoming court announced at halftime

BHS cheerleaders perform at halftime

Third-quarter scoring, key plays

Brentwood: Kaylon Jenkins 6-yard run; kick failed
Score: 48-6, 4:54
Key plays: On the Hawks’ previous possession, Joe Clay’s tackle for a 14-yard loss; Jacob Clay’s 14-yard pass from Skylar Sappington and 11-yard run.

Brentwood: Justice Harris 26-yard pass from Skylar Sappington; kick failed
Score: 54-6, 1:52
Key plays: Justice Harris’s interception and return to the Hawks’ 26.
Sappington: “We ran a jet [running] play to Kaylon earlier to set that [pass play] up. So I faked to Kaylon and hopefully everybody runs up to cover him. As I faked to him I was watching the defense and I saw Justice getting open. He ran a corner route and was wide open.”

Fourth-quarter scoring, key plays

Brentwood: Luke Tilton 8-yard run; kick failed
Score: 60-6, 8:56
Key plays: On the Hawks’ previous possession, two tackles for losses by Brian Hutton, a pass batted down by Skylar Sappington and a fourth-down sack by Rob Bax at the Lift for Life 23; Luke Tilton’s 15-yard run.
Sappington: “I made that play just from watching film. Once I saw the guy going in motion I knew it was going to be a pass play towards him so I was ready for it.”

Lift for Life: Travon Moorehead 48-yard pass from Randy Love Jr.; pass failed
Score: 60-12, 4:26
Key plays: Darrion Glover’s 12-yard run plus a 15-yard facemask penalty; Courtland Hill’s tight pass coverage on the 2-point conversion attempt.

Brentwood statistical leaders vs. Lift for Life
Rushing: Jacob Clay 17-120, Kaylon Jenkins 11-89, Luke Tilton 2-35, Rob Bax 2-19, Demetrius Graves 2-5.
Passing: Sappington 2 for 4, 43 yards, 1 TD, no interceptions.
Receiving: Justice Harris 1-28, Jacob Clay 1-15.
Kickoff returns: Harris 1-83
Interceptions: Harris 2.
Sacks: Brian Hutton 4, Corey Carroll, Graves.
Combined tackles/assists: Carroll 14, Joe Clay 10, Harris 8, Sappington 8, Hutton 8, Graves 7, Jacob Clay 5, Luke Tilton 5, DeAndre Boykin 5, Rob Bax 4, Jordon Tate 4, Kaylon Jenkins 3, Daniel Neal 2, Tayveon Brown 2, Courtland Hill 2, Stephen Suntrup Jr. 2, Justin Shipley 1, Ricky McQuay 1, Cal Snare 1, Sam Tilton 1, Cameron Jenkins 1.

Brentwood’s St. Louis area stat leaders as of Oct. 4
From http://www.stlhighschoolsports.com
Jacob Clay: 1st, scoring; 4th, rushing; 4th, total yards
Brian Hutton: 1st, QB sacks; 3rd, fumble recoveries
Kaylon Jenkins: 2nd, interceptions; 12th, punt return average; 19th, return yards; 21st, total yards
Skylar Sappington: 1st, passing ratio; 24th, punting average
Justice Harris: 2nd, interceptions; 5th, return yards; 6th, fumble recoveries; 19th, kickoff return average
Joe Clay: 19th, assists; 21st, total tackles/assists

Brentwood’s 2015 schedule (7-0)
Beat Crystal City 58-6
Beat JFK 54-18
Beat Sumner 55-6
Beat Orchard Farm 39-7
Beat Cuba 53-0
Beat Principia 52-0
Beat Lift for Life 60-12
Oct. 9, Friday, home vs. Liberty-Wentzville, 7 p.m.
Oct. 17, Saturday, away vs. Cleveland NJROTC, 1:30 p.m.
Oct. 23, Class 2 District 5 playoffs

Liberty-Wentzville’s 2015 results (4-2)
Aug. 21: beat Northwest Academy 20-8
Sept. 4: lost to Orchard Farm 33-20
Sept. 11: lost to Hermann 40-6
Sept. 18: beat Confluence 28-26
Sept. 25: beat Cuba 32-24
Oct. 2: beat Barat (3-4) 32-0

Class 2, District 5 tournament seeding as of Oct. 4
1. Brentwood (7-0), 53.71 points
2. Trinity Catholic (6-1), 53.33
3. Lutheran North (3-4), 49.77
4. Hermann (5-2), 49.02
5. Lutheran St. Charles (5-2), 44.24
6. Transportation and Law (1-5), 33.37
7. Principia (3-4), 26.97