Silverdale Baptist tops Boyd Buchanan with late TD run, defensive stop

Silverdale Baptist Academy football coaches were ready to take Jackson Deitch out of the game after he took a hard hit.

Deitch wasn’t having it.

The junior running back stayed in, and with eight minutes to play, he broke a 33-yard touchdown run that put the Seahawks ahead for good in a 24-20 home win over Boyd Buchanan in a TSSAA Division II-AA East Region matchup Friday night.

“He got hammered on the first play,” Silverdale coach Mike Connor said. “They were going to sub him, and he was like, ‘I’m good.’ So we quickly subbed him back in, and that’s when he made that big play. He’s just a relentless beast.”

Deitch finished with 80 yards on nine carries, 72 of them in the fourth quarter, as the Seahawks (4-3, 3-2) moved past the Buccaneers (4-3, 2-3) in the region standings while ending a three-game losing streak in the series between Chattanooga rivals.

“He’s explosive,” Connor said. “He’s so underrated. People should be paying attention to Jackson. He touches the ball, something’s going to happen.”

(READ MORE: Final scores and photos from Friday’s Chattanooga-area prep football games)

Silverdale vs. Boyd Buchanan football on Oct. 9, 2026

On Silverdale’s first snap, quarterback Bob Edmonds hit Cannon Rogers on an 80-yard flea-flicker. After Cole Carpenter recovered a Boyd Buchanan fumble at the Seahawks’ 13, Keion Brooks capped an 87-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead.

The visitors chipped away, though. Lukas Goins kicked a 46-yard field goal early in the second quarter, and after Silverdale kicker Ethan Givens answered with a 35-yarder, Justin McCoy scored on a 5-yard run with 1:09 left in the half. Maddox Medlock then intercepted Edmonds, and Goins drilled a 50-yard field goal as time expired to make it 17-13 entering the break.

After a scoreless third quarter, Boyd Buchanan’s Jack Ferguson finished an 84-yard drive with a 7-yard touchdown run with 9:48 left, giving the Bucs their first lead at 20-17. Ferguson ran for 122 yards on 22 carries.

“We definitely had to resettle, regain our focus,” Deitch said. “Our theme is ‘Relentless’ on Fridays, and we definitely had to recenter our focus on being relentless in the second half.”

Silverdale needed just 1:48 to answer. Edmonds found Rogers for 37 yards on third-and-8, and two plays later, Deitch was in the end zone. Rogers finished with five catches for 148 yards, and Edmonds was 16-of-23 passing for 219 yards.

Ferguson broke a 43-yard run to the Silverdale 27 on Boyd Buchanan’s next drive, but a holding penalty backed the Bucs up, and quarterback Drew Rivers came up a yard short on a fourth-and-9 scramble at the 18.

Deitch then carried three straight times for 36 yards and two first downs to run out the clock, sealing a follow-up win to the Seahawks’ 33-15 upset of state-ranked Lakeway Christian a week earlier.

(READ MORE: Silverdale Baptist picks up stunning home win)

“Not only do you get the big stop there at the end, but you’ve got to get the ball out and possess the ball those last 2 1/2 minutes,” Connor said. “It takes a great deal of maturity for a teenager to do what these guys did tonight.”

Boyd Buchanan outgained Silverdale 423-363 in total offense and ran for 280 yards but was hurt by two turnovers and 110 penalty yards.

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Both teams are off next week before back-to-back region games to close the regular season. The Bucs will host Christian Academy of Knoxville on Oct. 23 and Knoxville Webb on Oct. 30, while the Seahawks have away games that will keep them in town at Notre Dame (Oct. 23) and Chattanooga Christian (Oct. 30).

“My greatest fear is our guys won’t reach their full potential each season,” Connor said. “If it’s a state championship, it’s a state championship. If it’s third round (of the playoffs), it’s third round. So winning a game like this gives me that hope.”

Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com.