How Brentwood Academy nearly upset Baylor in TSSAA football state championship

CHATTANOOGA — Brentwood Academy junior Larry Sanders II’s eyes were red and moist as he walked off the rain-soaked Finley Stadium turf.

Sanders was the best player on the field in the TSSAA football playoffs Division II-AAA BlueCross Bowl state championship — a field that included the No. 2 running back in the 2027 class, Baylor’s David Gabriel-Georges.

But that didn't matter to the lights on the scoreboard.

Baylor’s defense turned away a late scoring attempt and its offense capitalized by reclaiming the final lead for a 28-24 win on Dec. 4 that denied Brentwood Academy its first state title since 2018.

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“I’m hurt,” Sanders said. “Me and my guys put in a lot of work. We didn’t come out here and do our best. We made a lot of mistakes.”

Sanders kept BA in the game in the second half and rushed for 215 yards and three touchdowns on 29 carries. Gabriel Georges, a five-star prospect and the No. 14 player nationally in 2027, according to the 247Sports Composite, finished with 152 yards rushing and a TD on 28 carries.

Brentwood Academy (11-1) was minutes away from knocking off a nationally ranked Baylor squad (12-0) loaded with future Power 4 players. The Red Raiders are No. 17 in the latest MaxPreps national rankings.

A win for BA would have snapped the McCallie-Baylor streak of what is now seven consecutive DII-AAA state titles. The Chattanooga boarding schools have dominated the classification since 2019.

That's what made the end so difficult.

“We thought we had it,” BA coach Paul Wade said.

BA trailed 21-10 with 10:05 left in the third quarter but stormed back to take a 24-20 lead after Sanders’ touchdown runs of 51 and 12 yards.

Eagles linebacker Roman Jennings recovered a loose Baylor snap on the next series and BA fed Sanders all the way down to a 1st-and-goal at the Baylor 5. But a bad snap moved the ball back to the 17, and kicker Tommy Bauchiero’s 48-yard field goal attempt through a steady rainfall came up just short.

What could’ve been a 10-point lead for BA with around eight minutes left in the fourth quarter turned into a four-point deficit. Baylor mounted an 80-yard drive the other way to go up 28-24.

On BA’s final drive with under three minutes left, a deep Crews Jenkins pass went off the hands of five-star junior receiver Kesean Bowman, who had wide-open field in front of him.

“That goes to the house (if he catches it),” Wade said. “Thought he jumped a tad early. But then with the rain, you’re trying to jump up and secure it.”

Wade quickly recalled that Bowman’s 69-yard kickoff return led to a field goal late in the first half that kept BA in the game.

The silver lining is Sanders and the rest of BA’s big junior class are set to return in 2026.

“I knew they had a great running back over there (Gabriel-Georges),” Sanders said. “I knew no one knew my name. I knew they’d talk about him way more, so I just wanted to come showcase what I could do. I wanted to win it for the seniors. But we’re really motivated. We're coming back even better next year, I promise.”

Tyler Palmateer covers high school sports for The Tennessean. Have a story idea for Tyler? Reach him at [email protected] and on the X platform, @tpalmateer83.

He also contributes to The Tennessean's high school sports newsletter, The Bootleg. Subscribe to The Bootleg here.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: David Gabriel-Georges, Baylor capture TSSAA football championship