MONTGOMERY, Ala. - The Brevard College football team (4-2, 4-1 USA South) scored two defensive touchdowns and rode 15-straight fourth-quarter points to a 25-21 victory over Huntingdon College (3-4, 3-2 USAS) on Saturday afternoon in Montgomery, Alabama.
The victory marked BC's second win in program history against Huntington, and the first time that the Tornados have defeated the Hawks in Montgomery in four overall tries.
The Tornados' utilized a pair of interception touchdowns, as James Woods (60-yard pick six) and Chase Pfeiffer (23-yard game-winning pick six) each took INTs to the house. Jadien Deaton rushed in a 25-yard touchdown and scored a two-point conversion, while Hugo Taylor made a 23-yard field goal to round out the scoring for BC.
Offensively, the Tornados leaned heavily on their running game, netting 172 yards on the ground in total. Chancellor Lee-Parker was a workhorse toting the ball 23 times for 91 yards to Deaton's 56 yards and a touchdown on nine carries. Adam Douglas led the receiving corps with three catches for 61 yards which included a 42-yard catch from fellow receiver Cooper Hogan, that helped set up BC's first touchdown of the fourth quarter.
Senior defensive lineman Trey Williams paced the Tornado defense with seven tackles which included two tackles-for-loss, one quarterback sack, and a forced fumble. Baylee Ramey added six tackles with 2.5 TFL and a sack, while Ernest Smith II (six tackles, two TFL) and Carter Raulerson six tackles) also put forth six-tackle efforts. Robert Dorsey added four tackles with two TFL, a sack, and a forced fumble.
Reggie Taylor II ran a kickoff 54 yards and Zackary Orr notched a 50-yard kickoff return.
Brevard went for fourth down on its first offensive possession, but the attempt fell incomplete. BC's defense stepped up to force a three-and-out on Huntingdon's first possession of the ballgame.
The Tornados put together a lengthy 15-play drive on the next drive that went 60 yards down the field, but after falling behind the chains following a holding penalty, Brevard had to settle for a 42-yards field goal attempt that missed wide right. Huntingdon capitalized on its next possession as Troy Garner dashed for a 19-yard score and the hosts took a 7-0 lead.
Set up by Orr's 50-yard kickoff return, the Tornados went 30 yards on 10 plays, but the Hawks got a critical stop inside the red zone on third down. Taylor connected from 23 yards to cut the deficit to four points, 7-3.
The Hawks crossed midfield on their next possession, but on a second-and-nine pass from Dorian Smith, Woods jumped the pass and sprinted 60 yards for the touchdown score and gave Brevard a 10-7 lead.
Huntingdon went for it on fourth down inside BC territory, but a pass was swatted away by Kentrayle Holloway to halt the drive. However, the hosts blocked a Samuel Vargas punt to set up a late first-half scoring drive as the Hawks retook the lead, 14-10. Then, the Tornados coughed the ball up as Taylor II fumbled the ensuing kickoff, giving Huntingdon prime field position to punch in another touchdown. The hosts took an 11-point margin, 21-10, into halftime.
Neither side got much going early in the third quarter, trading three-and-outs before Taylor missed a 28-yard field goal wide right - his second miss of the afternoon.
Brevard's offense was able to find its groove early in the fourth quarter as a trick play sparked the Tornados when Hogan hit Douglas for a 42-yard completion. Deaton dashed into the end zone on the very next play, rushing in from 25 yards out to score BC's lone offensive touchdown of the game. Ethan Beamish found Deaton on the two-point try to cut the deficit to three, 21-18.
Brevard's defense stopped Huntingdon on fourth down on the next Hawk drive, but the Tornados were forced to punt the football away. However, on the very first play of Huntingdon's next possession, the Hawks called a screen pass and Pfeiffer - a sophomore defensive lineman from Clermont, Florida and transfer from the University of Mount Union - jumped the route and took an interception 23 yards for the eventual game-winner, as the Tornados took a four-point lead, 25-21.
Huntingdon drove the ball inside Brevard's red zone, setting up third-and-one at the BC 18-yard-line. The Tornados forced an incomplete pass on third down, and the duo of Dorsey and Smith II combined for a TFL on fourth down to stop Garner in his tracks.
Brevard was able to ice the contest on its next drive with three first downs, sealing the critical USA South win for the Tornados.
BC returns home next Saturday, November 2 at 12 p.m. for Senior Day at Ives-Lemel Family Field against Methodist University.
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-BC-
