Veteran coach Bob Godsey knew Madison Academy was facing a formidable task in its season opener against Briarcrest Christian School of Memphis, whose roster includes four Division I prospects.
Ole Miss commit Jabari Small returned a punt 71 yards for a touchdown in the opening minutes to set the tone as the DII-AAA Saints spoiled Godsey’s debut as the Mustangs’ head coach at Bill Washington Stadium.
Small gained 135 yards on 11 carries with scoring runs of three and 55 yards before Briarcrest Christian pulled its starters midway through the third quarter. Small also had a punt return for touchdown – this one over 50 yards – nullified by an illegal block penalty. Junior quarterback Michael Dallas, making his first career start, threw a 62-yard touchdown pass and ran 16 yards for another TD as the Saints built a 27-0 lead by halftime.
Briarcrest Christian’s offense produced two touchdowns and a field goal on its first three possessions in the second half to stretch the lead to 44-0 with 3:28 remaining in the third quarter. The Saints rested their starters the rest of the game.
Madison Academy finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth when Briarcrest Christian’s backup punter fumbled a snap and the Mustangs recovered at the Saints’ 17. Quarterback Avery Seaton finished off the five-play drive with a 3-yard TD run and Andrew Clark added the extra point with 10:24 left.
The Mustangs had two excellent first-half opportunities that failed to produce points, missing a 38-yard field goal and mistakingly spiking the ball on fourth down from the BCS 2 as time wound down in the half.
Star of the game: Small, Briarcrest Christian’s speedy 5-foot-11, 190-pound running back who gained nearly 1,000 yards and scored 12 touchdowns in 2018, was as good as advertised, piling up 135 yards on only 11 carries. His punt return for a touchdown after Madison Academy went three-and-out on its first series gave the Saints momentum they never surrendered. “He’s a good player,” Godsey said. “There was one time we played him perfectly and he just ran right through us.”
Play of the game: Dallas turned a busted play into a miraculous score after Briarcrest Christian took over following an MA fumble in the second quarter. The snap from center sailed by the Saints quarterback, who was able to pick up the football in stride running backward, turn and find Gunner Campbell with a short screen pass. Campbell cut to the middle and outran the Madison Academy defenders to complete a 62-yard touchdown that made it 27-0.
Stat sheet: Briarcrest – Dallas competed 7 of 11 passes for 126 yards; Madison Academy – Seaton was 7 of 16 for 84 yards with one interception. Wide receiver Deuce Spurlock had a 37-yard reception.
By the numbers: 6,125 – number of days since Godsey last coached a game for a program besides Hartselle (Brooks in 2002) ... 37 – the 44-7 loss matched Madison Academy’s largest margin of defeat since it fell to another Tennessee school, McCallie, by the identical score to open the 2017 campaign. The Mustangs finished 7-4 that year … 95 – Briarcrest Christian was penalized nine times for 95 yards in the first two quarters, including three dead-ball personal foul flags. A total of 152 yards in penalties (BCS 11-105, MA 6-47) were whistled in the contest.
Coachspeak: “We’re a young football team, but we’re going to be just fine. We played hard all night. We had some weird stuff happen. There were little things that we’ve been talking about and a good football team will expose those things. But I saw a lot of fight and a lot of good things.”– Godsey.
They said it ...: “For a first game it was not bad overall. There’s a lot of things I thought we did well. When you’ve got a player like (Small) who can turn nothing into something, that’s pretty impressive.” – Briarcrest Christian coach Brian Stewart.
What’s next?: The Mustangs travel to Moulton to open their 5A, Region 8 slate against Lawrence County. Briarcrest Christian hosts Wooddale of Memphis.