What We Saw: Byrnes Beats Dorman In Defensive Struggle

Jed Blackwell September 26, 2024 @ 07:15 AM

ROEBUCK | Dorman and Byrnes kept making defensive plays.   Byrnes made one more.   The Rebels stifled the Cavaliers all night, [player_tooltip player_id='1615038' first='Emerson' last='James'] nabbed an interception that set up a late fourth-quarter score by [player_tooltip player_id='1604062' first='Jacobie' last='Fuller'], and Byrnes moved to 2-3 overall (and 2-0 in Region II-5A) with a 14-3 win over Dorman.   "What about that defense, man?" Byrnes coach Reggie Shaw said after the game. "I'm just so proud of them and of our coaches. We had two days to get ready. We've got four players who played in a varsity football game last year. We're still making some JV mistakes, but we're playing hard and we're fighting. We had two starting corners out tonight, but we go out and we do that. That's pretty special."   Byrnes' defense turned in an incredible performance. The Rebels held Dorman to 131 yards of total offense, including just 56 through the air. They allowed just three third down conversions and forced three turnovers on downs as the Cavaliers were 0-for-3 on fourth down. The Rebels had seven tackles for loss and three sacks, and perhaps none of those was bigger than a sack by [player_tooltip player_id='1254251' first='Jaidyn' last='Ferguson'] early in the fourth quarter.   Dorman had forced a Byrnes punt and was starting with a ton of momentum, trailing 7-3 and starting their first possession of the final quarter on the 50 yard-line. Dorman quickly picked up a first down, but a penalty put them behind the chains on the next set of downs. That's when Ferguson came crashing in and sacked [player_tooltip player_id='1308084' first='Brice' last='O'Neal'] for a 10-yard loss, knocking the Cavaliers out of any thought of a fourth-down try and forcing a punt.   "We just put it all on the field," Ferguson said. "That was just me having confidence, having a bunch of energy from my teammates, and just going out there and making a play that I knew I could make."   Ferguson had a monster night in general, with six tackles, a tackle for loss, and the sack.   "It's just a blessing that we were able to do this on a Wednesday, without our usual preparation," Ferguson said. "Now we've got to go win next week, and the week after that, and keep going."   Ferguson was far from the only outstanding Byrnes defender. [player_tooltip player_id='1592388' first='Jonathan' last='Montgomery'] had nine tackles, two tackles for loss, and a pass deflection, and added a blocked punt that set up Byrnes' first touchdown, a 17-yard pass from Caine Rogers to [player_tooltip player_id='1271241' first='Chanin' last='Harris'] just before the half. Torrian Mills had a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss, while Jackson Delaney had a sack and two tackles for loss.   Dorman's defense was just as good. The Cavaliers dominated the line of scrimmage on the defensive side of the ball for much of the night, with 10 tackles for loss and a sack. [player_tooltip player_id='402497' first='Kentavion' last='Anderson'] had a monster game, with 13 total tackles and three tackles for loss. [player_tooltip player_id='1316823' first='Dru' last='Darby'] added six stops and a tackle for loss, while [player_tooltip player_id='1592369' first='Jordan' last='Darby'] had five tackles, a tackle for loss, and an interception that turned away a Byrnes scoring threat. [player_tooltip player_id='1347290' first='Brayden' last='Melton'] had five tackles, a sack, and 2.5 tackles for loss.

ROEBUCK | Dorman and Byrnes kept making defensive plays.