Heading into the season, the coaches in District 2-3A all agreed that Benton Academy would be much improved this season.
The Raiders had shown that improvement in two blowout wins to open the season.
That was all the motivation that the Carroll Academy Rebels needed.
The Rebels used a strong defensive effort with four turnovers and a solid rushing attack to take a 42-7 win over the Raiders on Friday night.
The Rebels are now 3-0 on the season and will get a strong test this week as they take on Tri-County Academy, who is also 3-0 and the top-ranked team in the Class 4A.
Coach Bo Milton said he thought his team rose to the challenge against the Raiders.
“I did like our physicality, and I thought we matched their energy,” Milton said. “I thought we were a little bit sloppy in the beginning because both teams were amped up. They were sky high and thinking they were going to beat us. I think that led to some extra aggressive play on both sides. I know we were amped up and were ready to play.”
The Rebels got the ball to open the game and were forced on a rare three-and-out on offense. But Benton gave the ball right back to Rebels when Hunter Brackin came up with a fumble recovery.
On the next play, quarterback Brennan Blaylock scored on a 13-yard run with 9:53 left in the first quarter. Hunter Grantham booted the PAT, and Carroll led 7-0 early.
The Rebels got the ball back when Drew Thomas intercepted a pass to give Carroll the ball at their own 46. The Rebels then drove nine plays as Blaylock scored on a 1-yard quarterback sneak with 3:06 left in the first quarter. Grantham’s PAT gave the Rebels a 14-0 lead.
After a Benton punt, the Rebels went 70 yards in just three plays. After a 67-yard run by Maddox Carpenter, Blaylock hit Noah Beck on a 21-yard touchdown pass. Grantham’s PAT was good, and Carroll led 21-0 early in the second quarter.
The Carroll defense struck again as Noah Beck intercepted a Benton pass and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown. Grantham booted the PAT, and Carroll led 28-0 with 5:52 left in the first half.
The Rebels only slip-up came a few plays later after forcing a Benton punt. The Rebels fumbled at their own 18, and the Raiders took advantage with an 18-yard touchdown pass to cut the lead to 28-7.
But the Rebels didn’t need long to answer as they went 58 yards in just two plays as Blaylock scored on a 53-yard run. Grantham’s PAT gave the Rebels 35-7 lead.
The Raiders did put together a long drive right before the half but the Carroll defense held Benton out of the end zone, despite five tries inside the 5-yard line right before the half.
“I thought defensively that we played really well,” Milton said. “Number 6 had about 500 yards rushing coming into the game, and I thought we did a good job against him. He carried it about 30 times, and I don’t think he got 100 yards on the night. I thought Maddox Carpenter had a big game. He had 12 tackles and eight of those were solo tackles. He played really well at linebacker for us. And we created some turnovers. We had three interceptions and a fumble recovery.”
After forcing a Benton punt to start the second half, the Rebels went 75 yards in just two plays as Blaylock got free on a 73-yard touchdown run, giving him 146 yards on six carries on the night.
“I thought Brennan had a great game,” Milton said. “They were trying to lock us down on some things, and it’s going to leave some other things open. And he didn’t throw the ball much but all of his passes were on the money. I think we only ran 31 plays on offense and had more than 300 yards of offense. I will take 10 yards a play every game.”
The Rebels rushed for 285 yard on 23 carries. After Blaylock’s 146-yard effort, Carpenter had 72 yards on three carries. Lofton Holly had 22 yards on two carries while Bracken had 18 yards on six carries. Blaylock was 3-of-4 passing for 33 yards while Noah Beck had two catches for 26 yards.
Carpenter led the team with 12 tackles while Cooper Beck had seven tackles including three for a loss.
The Rebels will get tested this week as they take on Tri-County Academy, who is also 3-0 on the season.
Tri-County has wins over Greenville Christian (27-0), Riverfield (23-22) and Sylva Bay (34-6).
“They are the No. 1 team in Class 4A, and I hope that we can give them a good game,” Milton said. “I hope we can give them the same effort we did last year. They are very athletic. They are not very big on defense and run to the ball on defense. We have told our kids that we will see how good we are going to be with Tri-County. This will be a true test for us.”
Last year, Tri-County won 8-6 in overtime, one of three two-point losses for Carroll last season.
