Baconton Charter runs over Sherwood, 28-6

ALBANY — Baconton Charter brought plenty of size to Legacy Field on Thursday afternoon.

And not all of it was on the offensive line.

Quarterback Jaxon Beasley looks as though he could line up alongside the big guys blocking for him. On plenty of middle school teams, that’s probably exactly where he would be.

Instead, Baconton puts the ball in his hands.

That worked out pretty well Thursday.

Beasley and running back Eli Morman powered a punishing ground attack, and both made game-changing plays on defense as the Blazers rolled past Sherwood Christian 28-6 at Legacy Field next to Sherwood Christian Academy.

“They have a very disciplined, well-coached football team,” Sherwood coach Kevin Taylor said. “We really enjoy playing good teams so that we can measure our play against what we think is a good program. Today, we battled until the end, but their run game was too much for us.”

Sherwood found that out almost immediately.

An early Eagles fumble gave Baconton a short field, and Beasley quickly broke a run to the Sherwood 19. The Eagles’ defense appeared ready to turn the Blazers away when it forced fourth-and-6, but an offsides penalty kept the possession alive and gave Baconton the ball at the 3.

Morman took it from there, powering into the end zone for the game’s first touchdown.

Sherwood appeared ready with an answer.

A facemask penalty against Baconton helped the Eagles move into Blazers territory, but Beasley showed he could do more than run the offense. Playing in the secondary, he stepped in front of a Sherwood pass for an interception and abruptly ended the threat.

Then he went right back to work at quarterback.

Beasley connected with Elyn Hayek for a big completion to the Sherwood 36, setting up Morman’s 22-yard touchdown run. Beasley found Hayek again for the 2-point conversion, and the Blazers had a 14-0 lead.

This time, Sherwood answered in a hurry.

Eli Harris found a crease, broke into the open field and raced 70 yards down the visitors’ sideline for a touchdown, giving the Eagles life and cutting the Baconton advantage to 14-6.

But Baconton’s size and running game eventually took over.

Beasley ripped off two big runs on the Blazers’ opening possession of the third quarter to help move the ball to the Sherwood 25. On the next play, Morman swept around the left side and went 25 yards for his third touchdown.

Then Morman took his turn making a play on defense.

The Baconton running back intercepted a Sherwood pass to give the Blazers possession at their own 47. Moments later, Morman broke another long run to the Eagles’ 17.

Baconton didn’t bother hiding what was coming next.

Morman lined up in the Wildcat, took the snap and covered the final 17 yards for his fourth touchdown of the afternoon. Beasley ran in the 2-point conversion, pushing the lead to 28-6.

By then, the formula was obvious — and Sherwood still couldn’t stop it.

Behind its big offensive line, Baconton repeatedly put the ball in the hands of Beasley and Morman and dared the Eagles to bring them down. The duo accounted for all four Blazers touchdowns on the ground while also producing an interception apiece on defense.

For Sherwood, Harris’ 70-yard touchdown provided the afternoon’s biggest highlight, but Taylor came away knowing where his Eagles need to improve.

“We will have to clean up tackling before our next matchup,” Taylor said.

Against Baconton on Thursday, there was plenty of it to do.