FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. – Junior running back Mitchell Yoder rushed for the most yards by a Tornado in the DIII-era and the fourth-most in single-game program history, however, the Brevard College football team (5-4, 5-2 USAS) fell to the Methodist Monarchs (5-2, 5-1 USAS) on a last-minute touchdown on Saturday afternoon in Fayetteville, North Carolina.
Yoder, a junior from Columbus, North Carolina, accounted for 220 of Brevard's 299 total rushing yards in the contest, which is the most by a single player since BC joined the DIII ranks and places him fourth all-time in BC football history for a single game. The historic day came by way of 14 carries and included a 97-yard touchdown rush – which marks the longest play from scrimmage and longest rush in BC football history. The junior also found the end zone twice to help lead the Tornado offensive attack.
Eli Carr, who came in on BC's third drive of the afternoon, completed 16-of-29 passes for a career-high 238 passing yards, while punching the ball in for a one-yard TD run. Luis Alvarez (67 yards), Dalton Cole (60 yards), and Marcus Lane (38 yards) all had career receiving outputs as well, while placekicker Stamati Damalos went 2-for-3 on field goals and a perfect 3-for-3 on extra points. Brandon Norris paced the special teams' return game with 171 total kickoff return yards, including a game-long 40-yard return.
Dylan James, a freshman defensive back from Gainesville, Florida, and Kameron Moore, a sophomore defensive back from Miami, Florida, each picked off the first pass of their Tornado careers, as BC led the turnover battle 2-0. Senior defensive back Dante Anderson led the way with 11 tackles, while Steffon Canady brought his sack total to 10.5 on the season with nine tackles, a sack, and 1 ½ tackles-for-loss. Toby Baylor and Jerome Bass each added five tackles and a sack, while Bass led all Tornados with three tackles-for-loss.
Methodist's Brandon Bullins threw for 373 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, while Xzavier McNeil hauled down eight catches for 180 yards and a pair of touchdown scores. Nate Jones led all Methodist players with a game-high 15 tackles.
James picked off Bullins on the game's first drive after Trey Williams batted down a pass, giving the Tornado offense the ball in Methodist field position. However, the Tornado offense went three-and-out before giving the ball back to the Monarchs.
Both sides traded punts on their next two dries before a seven-play, 39-yard drive resulted in a Tyquan Eaddy one-yard touchdown run to give Methodist the early lead, 7-0. Bullins found McNeil on the ensuing Monarch possession, doubling the MU advantage, 14-0.
Brevard's offense responded, as Carr led a 14-play, 69-yard drive that was capsulated with a Carr one-yard QB rushing touchdown, cutting the Monarch lead in half, 14-7.
It only took one play for the Tornados to tie it up on their next drive, as Yoder's historic 97-yard scamper knotted the score up, 14-14, with 3:30 left to play in the half.
Methodist was able to respond immediately, however, as Bullins found a streaking McNeil for a 68-yard score, putting the Monarchs back on top, 21-14. BC used a six-play, 81-yard drive to get onto the Methodist four-yard line, but was forced to settle for a 22-yard Damalos field goal that cut the Monarch lead to four points, 21-17, as the two teams went into the locker rooms.
Brevard got the ball to begin the second half, but a nine-play, 48-yard drive resulted in a fourth-down stop that gave Methodist the ball back on their own 26-yard-line. BC's defense forced a punt before the offense strung together a 10-play, 65-yard possession that was capped with a Damalos 32-yard field goal, cutting the deficit to just one point, 21-20.
Bullins was picked off by Moore just before the third quarter ended, but Methodist's defense stopped Brevard for the second time on fourth down to preserve the Monarchs' one-point cushion. Methodist put together a 10-play, 60-yard drive that ended with a goal-line stand by Brevard, as the Monarchs settled for a 22-yard field goal to push their lead back up to four points with 9:14 left to play.
Yoder once again provided heroics for the Tornado offense, as a 60-yard scoring dash put the Tornados on top for the first time in the ballgame, 27-24, with 8:23 left.
Both sides traded punts on their next two possessions before Eaddy capped off a game-clinching nine-play, 60-yard drive with a one-yard touchdown run to put Methodist back on top, 31-27, with just 49 seconds left on the clock.
Carr and the Tornado offense put together a valiant attempt to retake the lead on the game's last drive, pushing the ball all the way down to the Methodist 11-yard-line, but with one second left on the game clock, a Carr pass to Lane was broken up by Jordan, sealing the game for the Monarchs, 31-27.
The Tornados are slated for a bye week followed by their season-finale on Saturday, November 13 at Ives-Lemel Family Field for Senior Day against Averett University, with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m.
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-BC-