Photo Gallery
(Solar) fusion cuisine: Using the power of the sun to cook on the cheap is a patience-testing novelty
McCallie's Alex Trotter pushes forward as Baylor defenders attempt to slow him.Anyone expecting a high-scoring high school football game between McCallie and Baylor at McCallie's packed Spears Stadium on Friday night was half right.
The host Blue Tornado continued their dominant ways in 2014, putting an end to the Red Raiders' six-game winning streak in the storied series with a 35-9 victory in the Division II-AA East/Middle Region game.
Running back Alex Trotter, as he has done so often for McCallie (7-0, 3-0), not only led the way but outgained Baylor 263 yards to 162. Trotter rushed 30 times for 244 yards with three scoring runs from the 1, and he caught three passes for another 19 yards.
Trotter said McCallie tweaked some of its blocking schemes over the course of practice this week to counter Baylor's "very unique defense."
"The holes up front were huge," Trotter said. "Our line did a great job getting on the linemen and getting to the linebackers. They had a huge impact on this game."
The teams exchanged punts on their first possessions, but Baylor (5-1, 2-1) made out in field position, taking over the ball for its second time at McCallie's 36. The Red Raiders netted a first down on the first play, but things stalled after that and Colin Brewer converted a 39-yard field goal.
"Us getting three points instead of seven hurt," Baylor coach Phillip Massey said. "We get the short field, then we have to settle for a field goal. We put the ball in there, it gives us some confidence to build on."
The rest of the half belonged to the Blue Tornado.
After the ensuing kickoff went through the end zone, McCallie marched 80 yards and took the lead when JaVaughn Craig connected with a diving Tyrik Stewart near the front pylon on the right side of the end zone. The 11-yard strike was the only pass on the drive.
Trotter's first TD came at the end of a 67-yard march. His next came after Shawn McColley's fumble recovery set McCallie up at Baylor's 32 with 9:38 to go until halftime.
The Blue Tornado went up by 25 after driving it 80 yards again after the second-half kickoff. Matthew Brock scored the touchdown on an 8-yard pass from Craig, who ended up 11-of-12 for 114 yards to go with 85 rushing.
They made it 35-3 with a 96-yard possession that included Trotter's longest run of the night. It was a 49-yard zigzag down the McCallie sideline that set up his third TD.
"We've got a lot of experience," coach Ralph Potter said of his offense, which ended up with 478 yards from scrimmage. "We've got a quarterback with a great understanding of what we want to do. We've got a lot of speed and power with Alex and speed with Paul Silverblatt. We've got four really good receivers and an offensive line that's very smart and very tough."
The Red Raiders added a touchdown on a 46-yard drive that culminated with Nick Tiano's 3-yard slant pass to Tate Prater. A mishandled snap led to the failure on the conversion.
"I'm proud of our kids for that fourth-quarter touchdown," Massey said. "We had some things go against us. I thought they showed a lot of character and that's something we can build on, not giving up and being resilient."
Potter said as much as he loved the atmosphere, having the game on campus for the first time in 14 years, he'd like to see both schools agree to play at Finley Stadium each year. He also credited his group for putting last week's big win over Ensworth behind them quickly without his help.
"It's Baylor," Potter said. "I didn't really have to do that."
The tough stretch continues for McCallie with Brentwood Academy (6-1, 2-1), where Potter was once head coach, coming to Spears next Friday.
"There will be a huge celebration tonight," Trotter said. "Then we'll come in tomorrow morning and start focusing on what we have to do for Brentwood."
Contact Kelley Smiddie at ksmiddie@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6653. Follow him at twitter.com/KelleySmiddie.