Zach Stanford’s 85-yard touchdown run completed
Crossville’s rally from a 14-0 deficit, lifting the Lions to a 24-20 victory
over Brindlee Mountain in last Friday’s spring football jamboree at Scant
City.
Brindlee Mountain, which operated from the spread last season, came out in a
different offensive scheme, catching the Lions off guard.
Brindlee Mountain capitalized, building a 14-0 advantage.
“They’ve been a spread team, and really, that’s why I wanted to play them
because I knew we would have very little time to devote to defense this
spring,” said Crossville head coach Keith Garner.
“They came out in a shotgun look, a wing-T philosophy with some single wing
mixed in, and they ran traps, counters and boots, things we never worked on. We
look up, and we get caught with our pants down, so to speak.
“We had to go in at halftime and go to a defense that we hadn’t played all
spring to match up to their guys. We matched up better and came out and played
much better the second half.”
Midway through the second quarter, Crossville quarterback Nick Davis connected
with John Williamson on a 15-yard touchdown pass. Michael West scored the
two-point conversion, cutting it to 14-8.
Brindlee Mountain added another touchdown, taking a 20-8 lead at intermission.
Quarterback Luke Lacey fired a 33-yard scoring pass to Williamson in the third
quarter. Brandon Jackson caught the two-point conversion pass, pulling the Lions
within 20-16.
Jackson, a 6-foot-7, 220-pound receiver, is one of the newcomers on
Crossville’s roster.
Brindlee Mountain drove to the Lions’ 1-yard line with five minutes left in
the fourth quarter. But on the next play, Crossville’s Ty Harbour recovered a
fumble at the 4, ending BMHS’s scoring threat.
Six plays later, Stanford’s 85-yard dash capped the 96-yard drive and gave the
Lions their first lead of the night. Quarterback Zach Gardner ran for two
points, making it 24-20.
West, another of Crossville’s newcomers, had two interceptions.
The Lions dressed 46 players, and all of them played.
“Everybody played,” Garner said. “We dressed 46, and we had two not to
dress.
“Basically, we’ve gone from a 27-man roster to a 47-man roster, which is a
good thing.
“We’ve gotten a lot better participation, and it’s created a situation
athletically where we’re a much better football team.
“In practice, competition breeds a much better football player. With every day
and every rep, we got just a little bit better.”
One of the reasons for the increase in the Lions’ roster size is Garner’s
switch to a spread formation on offense.
“We installed a new offensive system that’s excited a lot of people and
brought some kids out,” he said.
“We had a lot of fun this spring and got after each other. For a handful of
days, I thought we got a lot accomplished.”
The Lions played three quarterbacks — Davis, Lacey and Gardner. Garner said
“nothing is set in stone” on the team’s quarterback situation.
“I feel basically like I did before the spring, that there’s a lot left to
be seen,” Garner said.
“Nick played as our starter, but then again, Luke Lacey played the best I’d
seen him play. Zac didn’t get the reps I wanted him to.
“It’s the first time I can remember in a long time feeling like we have
three quarterbacks who can play. We won’t actually be settled on a starter
until we play our first game.
“We’ll have a two-quarterback system — they’re that close. Whoever
doesn’t start will play another position with the understanding his days at
quarterback are not over.”