DIV 3

Comeback Attempt Falls Just Short for Football at Huntingdon

The Brevard College football team (0-1, 0-1 USAS) opened its long-awaited 2021 Spring season, dropping a narrow decision to USA South Conference foe Huntingdon College (1-0, 1-0 USAS), 26-18, despite a spirited comeback attempt in the closing minutes of action on Saturday afternoon.

Trailing 26-7 with less than three minutes remaining to play, the Tornados scored 11 points in less than a minute to cut the deficit to an eight-point, 26-18 margin with 1:57 left to play. Huntingdon staved off Brevard’s late comeback bid by killing 1:15 off the clock and pinning the Tornados inside their own five-yard line with less than 40 seconds to play.

Despite a couple of early Huntingdon touchdowns, Brevard’s defense impressed in the latter stages of the contest, forcing the Hawks into six punts and holding Huntingdon to a 4-of-16 mark on third-down efficiency. The Tornado defense forced a pair of fumbles (one recovered) in addition to their drive-stalling efforts that included 11 tackles-for-loss and a pair of quarterback sacks.

Senior defensive back Dante Anderson led all players with an 11-tackle performance (seven solo, four assist) in addition to 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup. Sophomore defensive back Joc Pledger added eight tackles, two tackles-for-loss, a pass breakup, and a pivotal forced fumble late in the fourth quarter that gave the Tornados new life.

Steffon Canady, Toby Naylor, and Andreas Wyatt added seven tackles each, while Chris Diaz posted a six-tackle performance. Wesley Ross added four tackles, while Jerome Bass, Canady, Diaz, Derek Frazier, Tyler Harrison, Quentin Jackson, and Antonio Williams Jr. all logged tackles-for-losses. Bass and Williams Jr. each recorded a sack as well.