Carroll Academy football Coach Bo Milton told his team all week that Glenbrook was a good offensive football team.
The Rebels saw that first-hand, but the Rebels scored 21 unanswered points in the second half to pull away and take a 42-16 win over the Apaches in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.
Carroll improves to 10-0 on the season and will host three-time defending champion Greenville St. Joseph on Friday night in the Class 3A semifinals.
For Coach Bo Milton, it was a frustrating first half as the Apaches were able to play keep-away from the Carroll offense.
“It was a great win against a good Glenbrook team,” Milton said. “They’re really good on offense, one of the best offenses we have played so far. They kept the ball away from us in the first half. Once we got going, I thought we played a good game. We ran for 321 yards and threw for 118 yards and I will take that every night.”
The Rebels only had the ball once in the first quarter. Glenbrook got the opening kick and put together a 15-play drive but had to settle for a 21-yard field goal and led 3-0.
The Apaches got the ball right back as they recovered an onside kick but eventually turned the ball over on downs.
When the Rebels did get the ball, they went 65 yards in nine plays as Brennan Blaylock hit Noah Beck on a 27-yard touchdown pass. Hunter Grantham booted the PAT, and Carroll led 7-3 at the end of the first.
On their second drive, the Rebels threw an interception and gave Glenbrook the ball at the Carroll 39. The Apaches went 39 yards in four plays and scored on a 6-yard run. The PAT was good, and Glenbrook led 10-7 early in the second quarter.
The Rebels finally started to settle down and responded with a seven-play, 53-yard drive. Hunter Brackin capped off the drive with a 6-yard run with 4:07 left in the half. Grantham hit the PAT, and Carroll retook the lead at 14-10.
After holding Glenbrook on downs, the Rebels went 37 yards in three plays as Maddox Carpenter scored on a 1-yard run with 1:47 left in the half. Grantham’s PAT was good, and Carroll led 21-10.
After trading turnovers, Glenbrook was able to find the end zone on a two-yard quarterback keeper after an eight-play, 83-yard drive. The try-for-two failed, and Carroll led 21-16 at the half.
“The first half was just frustrating,” Milton said. “They didn’t do anything that we haven’t practiced against. We just didn’t make enough plays to get them off the field. But we just kept doing what we do and kept chipping away at them. We finally starting to make plays on both sides of the ball in the second half.”
The Rebels got the ball to start the second half and marched 59 yards in six plays as Brackin scored on a 10-yard touchdown run with 8:15 left in the third. Grantham’s PAT was good, and Carroll led 28-16.
After forcing a Glenbrook punt, the Rebels went 61 yards in seven plays as Braxton York scored on a three-yard run with 4:59 left in the third. Grantham’s PAT was good, and Carroll extended the lead to 35-15.
Carroll’s last score was set up by the defense after a Noah Beck interception and 50-yard return to the Glenbrook 16. Three plays later, Brackin scored on a two-yard run. Grantham hit the PAT, and the Rebels led 42-16.
“Once again, we started tweaking with the offense and went to more of a two-back set and started to run downhill,” Milton said. “I thought we did a good job of spreading the ball around. We got back to using a lot of people. I thought Brennan looked good throwing the ball. He looked really good last night.”
The Rebels had 439 yards of total offense with 328 yards rushing. Blaylock was 9-of-16 passing for 118 yards with one TD. Brackin led the rushing attack with 117 yards on 17 carries. Maddox Carpenter had 64 yards on eight carries, while Braxton York had 59 yards on six carries. William Panni had three carries for 36 yards. Noah Beck had four catches for 56 yards with one TD while York had four catches for 48 yards.
On defense, Mathis Beck led the team with 12 tackles while Noah Beck had eight tackles and two interceptions. Brackin had six tackles as well with three for a loss.
The Rebels will be at home again this week as they host three-time defending champion Greenville Saint Joseph in the Class 3A semifinals.
The Irish are 9-1 on the season with their lone loss being a 50-7 setback to Greenville Christian. They have wins over Adams County Christian (50-20), Clinton Christian (47-6), Glenbrook (40-7), North Delta (25-6), Bayou (20-14) and Porter’s Chapel (48-0). In the playoffs, they beat Tunica 35-0 and Sylva Bay 42-7 last week.
“Their big quarterback is back and healthy,” Milton said. “They are probably more balanced than they were last year. Last year, you knew one of those two guys were getting the ball. This year, they have four or five guys they are trying to get the ball to. They don’t have those Division I guys but do have above average skill kids that are good. Our kids have been focused on St. Joe since last year. This has been the team that we are shooting for. They are the standard right now.”
Last year, St. Joseph beat Carroll 20-18 in the 3A semifinals.
