NASHVILLE — The McGavock Raiders faced a tough task in their 2019 season opener, hosting DII-A state runner-up Battle Ground Academy on Friday night.
McGavock had its moments, but ultimately, BGA surged past the Raiders for a 48-21 road win.
“We had some speed and we thought we would be able to do some good things,” McGavock coach Julius Gore said.
“We are fortunate that we have some guys that have been very productive with the football,” BGA coach Jonas Rodriguez added. “We did a nice job in our passing game, and I am proud of our effort and execution.”
With 6:14 remaining in the first quarter, BGA drew first blood when Purdue commit Antonio Stevens recovered a fumble and raced 40 yards for a touchdown.
The Wildcats padded their lead to 14-0 with a 31-yard touchdown pass from senior Nick Semptimphelter to Northwestern commit Garnett Hollis Jr. with 1:50 remaining in the first quarter.
McGavock provided some fireworks 12 seconds later with a 95-yard kick return touchdown from senior Kevontae Dorris, cutting the BGA lead to 14-7.
BGA continued the scoring frenzy in the second quarter with a long touchdown pass from Semptimphelter to Hollis Jr. with 11:37 remaining to stretch the lead 21-7. A scoop-and-score on a blocked punt by Xavier Shaw added to the BGA lead, 28-7.
With 11 seconds before halftime, Semptiphelter delivered a 6-yard strike to senior running back Briston Bennett to run the Wildcat lead to 34-7. McGavock blocked the extra point.
In the third quarter, Semptimphelter threw a 56-yard missile to Hollis Jr., who collected his third touchdown of the game to extend the lead 41-7.
“(Hollis Jr.) is a playmaker,” Semptimphelter. “We have been working a lot this offseason, and it came together today.”
McGavock answered back with an 11-yard touchdown run from Dashay Griffin with 2:53 remaining in the third quarter to close the gap 41-14.
However, Semptimphelter tossed his fifth touchdown strike of the game just before the end of the third quarter to Stevens to increase the BGA lead to 48-14.
“Nick did a great job of reading the defense,” Rodriguez said. “He is a very intelligent quarterback and has a good feel about where to put the ball.”
McGavock got a late rushing touchdown with 39 seconds remaining in the game from sophomore Isaiah Burns to tally the final score of 48-21.
“We had kids that did not quit and kept on playing hard,” Gore added.
Next week, McGavock will travel to Lebanon to take on the Blue Devils.
“We have a lot of room for improvement,” Gore said. “On Monday, we will go to work and try to work out the kinks.”
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