Alex Boyd’s big night leads Braves over Tigers

The Tigers entered the contest at 4-2 and were looking to end a nine game losing streak versus the Braves who entered the game at 1-4. The win was the second straight for the Braves who moved to 2-0 in Region 5-AA with four more region games remaining in the regular season.

Junior Brave Alex Boyd

The Brave defense held the Tigers to just 168 total yards with half of those coming versus the JV defense in the fourth quarter.

The Braves led 41-6 before the Tigers found the end zone versus the young guys with just seconds to play in the game.

Leroy Marsh completed four of his eight passes in the game for 142 yards and two touchdowns.

In addition to the long scoring pass to Boyd, Marsh connected with Ashton Bonner from 52 yards to extend the Braves lead to 27-6 midway through the third quarter.

Senior Kesean Johnson scored two touchdowns on short yardage plays in the first half.

Junior place kicker James Newell was successful on five of his six PAT attempts.

On the defensive side of the ball, starting linebacker Jai Wright was out of action with an injury giving an opportunity for Boyd to take some snaps at the position. Juniors Landon Holliday and Cedric Ware also played well on defense. Senior DL Tray Owens led the way up front in the trenches.

Bonner had a big second quarter interception near the Braves goal line and senior Will Finch came up with a big fumble recovery to halt a Tiger drive in the third quarter.

Brave head coach Tim Barron was pleased to see so many good things in the region rout.

“We’re excited — the kids were playing fast and we were having fun. We had the right energy and we were finally physical for all four quarters, and that’s how we’ve got to win — we have to be the most physical team on Friday nights,” Barron said after the win.

“While we were physical tonight, the biggest thing was our preparation Monday through Thursday. We did a good job of taking care of the little things and if you take care of those then big things will happen, but we’ve got to make sure we stay focused and grounded.”

Barron says Alex Boyd is just getting better and better each week as are the big guys up front.

“Boyd is really coming on. He played a good bit last year but in a backup role to a really good one,” said Barron. “Now every day and every week he is getting better and better because he is getting experience. He also played well at linebacker for us tonight. Our offensive line is also continuing to get better each week like we thought they would.”

The Braves (2-4, 2-0) will look for another region win this Friday night when they host the Jordan Red Jackets in the 2019 Homecoming game.

In other Region 5-AA action this week, Callaway defeated Lamar County 46-7, Bremen rolled over Jordan 57-6, and Spencer was off. The Braves and Callaway are the only undefeated teams in 5-AA and will meet in Lagrange next Friday, October 25 in the annual Pulpwood Classic.