MBA Outlasts McCallie on Senior Night

MBA finished the regular season with a thrilling 58-41 win on senior night at Tommy Owen Stadium. For the second straight week, MBA senior Mike Lacey opened the game with a kickoff return touchdown that went 90 yards to give the Big Red a 7-0 advantage. On the ensuing Blue Tornado drive, the Big Red defense capitalized on an errant quarterback center exchange to begin their next drive at the McCallie 6 yard line. From there tailback Ty Chandler, who would rush for 73 yards on 18 carries on the night, ran in a touchdown off tackle, the Big Red had a 14-0 lead 31 seconds into the game.
            The explosive offenses of MBA and McCallie exchanged touchdowns throughout the first half and when the dust cleared, the Big Red took a 38-21 lead into halftime.  The second half began where the first half left off as McCallie cut the MBA lead to 9 (44-35) as the fourth quarter began. With the wind at their back in the fourth quarter, MBA generated a ball control offense and a timely defensive effort to hold the Blue Tornado at bay until McCallie scored on the last play of the game. 
           Offensively, MBA had many great efforts including senior quarterback Cole Euverard, who generated over 270 yards of total offense and 4 total touchdowns. Senior all purpose threat Mike Lacey, who garnered over 250 all purpose yards and 3 touchdowns, was a force for the Big Red as was senior receiver Austin Rolfe who caught 6 balls for 81 yards on the night. Defensively, senior linebacker TJ Jefferson, who caught the last Big Red touchdown on offense, made stops all over the field against the option centered offense of McCallie as did junior outside linebacker David Gaw. 
         With the victory, MBA secured the 2nd seed and a first round bye in the TSSAA Division II-AA state championship bracket. MBA will host a quarterfinal game against the winner of the Pope John Paul II and McCallie game on November 14th.