BREVARD, N.C. - Despite a thrilling comeback effort that saw Brevard College erase a 23-3 halftime deficit with 20 unanswered points in the second half, the Tornados (0-1) dropped their 2023 season opener 29-23 after a walk-off pick six by Warner University (1-0) in the first overtime period on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
The Tornados and Royals, who were meeting for the first time in program history on the gridiron, battled in what was truly a tale of two halves for both sides with Warner jumping out to a 20-point first half lead and Brevard following suit with 20 unanswered points in the second half.
Sophomore quarterback Ethan Beamish went 29-for-44 with 298 yards and a touchdown pass in his Tornado debut, spreading the ball out to nine different BC targets over the course of the contest.
Brevard's rushing attack was anchored by a committee of Devonte Murray (43 yds), Chancellor Lee-Parker (38 yds), and DJ Taylor (36 yds), as the unit paced BC for 103 net yards on the ground.
Senior wide receiver Zackary Orr led all receivers in the game with 10 receptions and had a team-best 93 receiving yards. Sophomore Adam Douglas hauled in his first four receptions for 65 yards and his first career touchdown, while Cooper Hogan added five catches for 48 yards. In addition to Douglas, Andrew Bishop (2 rec, 14 yds), Alex Bolton (1 rec, 25 yds), and Jeremi Rudolph (2 rec, 25 yds) also recorded their first career Tornado receptions.
Brevard's defense came alive in the second half of play, shutting out the visiting Royals to keep BC within striking distance. Dylan James led all Tornados with eight tackles and also blocked a Warner kick, while Trey Williams added seven tackles and one and 1/2 tackles-for-loss. Obidiah Grimes (1 1/2 TFL), Wyatt Lankford, and Montrell Stinson all added five tackles, as Lankford and Quintrell Bowman recovered fumbles for the Tornados. Robert Dorsey, Jameel George, and Ernest Smith II caused fumbles in the contest, and Spring 2021 D3football.com All-American Second Team selection Joc Pledger tallied to his illustrious career totals with his first interception of the new season.
Junior placekicker Hugo Taylor made the first three field goal attempts of his Tornado career while also converting both of his extra-point tries. Nicholas Acus pinned three of his four punts inside the 20-yard-line in what was a successful overall day for the Tornado special teams unit.
Warner's starting QB Xavier Holliday (8-for-11, 135 yds) capped off both of his first-quarter drives with touchdown pass scores, but the rest of the contest was handled by Evan Eshback who went 12-for-24 with 186 yards, one TD and one interception.
Kyle Metiam paced the Royals with 99 rushing yards as the visitors racked up 169 net yards on the ground. Omarius Davis hauled down three receptions for 121 yards and a TD as the Royals accumulated 321 total yards through the air.
Warner's defense forced four Tornado turnovers (three interceptions, one fumble recovery), with Zach Little leading the charge with an eight-tackle performance. Kavon Martin racked up a game-best two TFL's.
It took just three minutes for the Warner offense to strike, as Holliday found Evens Valcourt for a 24-yard touchdown strike that put the visitors up, 7-0.
Brevard entered Warner territory on the ensuing possession, but the drive stalled after a third down incompletion at the 43-yard-line. Acus was able to pin Warner inside the five-yard-line with his first punt of 2023.
Holliday and the Royal offense orchestrated an eight-play, 97-yard drive that ended with a 23-yard touchdown pass to push the visitors to a 14-0 lead midway through the first period of play.
Brevard used a lengthy possession to get within the red zone for the first time in the contest, but after an illegal man downfield penalty the Tornados had to settle for a 36-yard field goal from Hugo Taylor, as BC cut the deficit to a 14-3 margin.
Warner took its next possession into the second quarter, reaching the red zone before converting a 32-yard field goal that brought the lead back up to 14 points, 17-3, with 12:58 left in the second quarter of action.
After Brevard's second punt of the afternoon, Warner struck for an 84-yard touchdown reception when Eshbach - on just his second drive of the game after replacing Holliday - found Davis for a pitch-and-run strike where the tight end broke numerous tackles en route to the score. A missed extra point left the score 23-3 in favor of the visiting Royals.
Both sides traded interceptions on their ensuing possessions before a sack-fumble of Beamish gave Warner the ball deep inside BC territory. The Royals squandered the opportune field position on their first play from scrimmage, however, as Brevard's George forced a fumble that was recovered by Lankford near the Warner sideline.
After regaining possession, Brevard could not capitalize, turning the ball over yet again as Beamish faced serious pressure in the pocket before launching his second interception of the ballgame. The ensuing Warner drive would result in no points however, as James got a piece of a 32–yard field goal attempt to keep the score 23-3. BC would head to the locker rooms down by 20.
Brevard cashed in its first possession of the second half when Hugo Taylor nailed a 40-yard field goal, trimming the Warner lead to a 23-6 margin. BC's defense forced consecutive Royal punts in the third quarter and the Brevard offense capped off a lengthy drive with a Murray one-yard touchdown score at the 11:31 mark in the fourth quarter that brought BC back within 10 points, 23-13.
Warner took a drive into the Brevard red zone, however the Royals ran a costly unsuccessful fake field goal on fourth and eight on the Brevard 16-yard-line that handed the ball back to the Tornados.
The Tornados wasted no time, as Beamish and the Brevard offense went 84 yards in just five plays as Douglas' 31-yard touchdown reception brought BC to within just three points, 23-20.
Both sides went on to trade punts on the next two possessions, and all seemed lost when Warner converted on a 3rd-and-seven with a minute left to play. Brevard would not be denied however, as the Tornados forced one of their most pivotal turnovers in the Bill Khayat era, as Smith II forced a Metiam fumble on the next rushing attempt, and the loose ball was gathered by BC's Bowman to give Brevard a chance to either tie or win the game.
An unsportsmanlike penalty set Brevard back to its own 44-yard-line, but consecutive completions to Orr and Douglas brought the Tornados inside Warner's 25-yard-line. Brevard was forced to settle for a 40-yard field goal attempt with less than 20 seconds left to play, but Hugo Taylor was up for the task, splitting the uprights to tie things up, 23-23 and force overtime.
Warner won the coin toss and elected to defend first, putting the Tornado offense back on the field to begin the first overtime period. Brevard's Lee-Parker rushed for three yards ahead of an incompletion and a false start penalty that left the Tornados with a third-and-long scenario. A tipped-pass on third down resulted in Warner coming up with the game-winning interception, as Aaron Belt returned the pick over 80 yards for a walk-off pick-six, as the visitors escaped with a 29-23 overtime W.
Brevard will travel to Hampden-Sydney College next Saturday, September 9 at 1 p.m. as the Tornados continue non-conference action.
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Spirited Tornado Comeback Effort Thwarted in Overtime by Royals
/seasons/2023/boxscores/20230902_ri4j.xml
2023
Warner
29
Brevard
23
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Warner (1-0) | 14 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 6 | 29 |
| Brevard (0-1) | 3 | 0 | 3 | 17 | 0 | 23 |
Sep 02, 2023
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