BREVARD, N.C. - Graduate transfer quarterback Miles Hayes recorded 270 total yards (253 passing, 17 rushing) with three touchdowns, while Jaden O'Leary caught a career-high eight passes for a career-best 114 yards as the Brevard College football team (1-3, 1-0 USA South) scored 28 first-half points en route to a 31-13 victory over Greensboro College (0-5, 0-2 USAS) in its conference opener on Friday evening at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
The contest marked Brevard's first on-campus night game in program history, after forecasts from Hurricane Ian forced the rescheduling of the contest originally slated for Saturday, October 1. Moreover, Brevard's contest against Greensboro was one of only nine NCAA football games happening on Friday across all divisions (five FBS, one FCS, and three DIII).
Hayes, a graduate transfer from North Point, Florida by way of Livingstone College, went 17-for-27 passing with 253 yards through the air and two touchdowns, while also netting 17 rushing yards and punching in an 8-yard score on the ground.
Jaden O'Leary, Brevard's fifth-year Senior tight end from Fayetteville, North Carolina, paced BC's aerial attack with career highs in receptions (eight) and yards (114) while also snagging a touchdown catch that put the Tornados up 21-0.
Senior running back Mitchell Yoder and junior transfer RB Chancellor Lee-Parker paced the rushing attack for the Tornados. Yoder rushed eight times for 46 yards, while Lee-Parker got five carries for 42 yards and a touchdown burst that gave the Tornados a 28-0 advantage before halftime.
Senior WR Dalton Cole caught three passes for 43 yards, while junior wideout Zackary Orr snagged a 23-yard TD pass.
Stamati Damalos extended BC's lead with a 35-yard field goal while also going 4-for-4 on extra-point attempts.
Defensively, the Tornados forced their second and third turnovers of the year, as sophomore defensive back Colby Yancey picked off his first career pass and senior linebacker Toby Naylor recorded his first interception of the season.
The Tornados were led by Naylor's nine tackles and quarterback sack defensively. Sophomore transfer defensive back KJ Dagout had a BC career-best seven-tackle performance, while Jerome Bass (10 tackles, one TFL) and Reece Rubio (five tackles) also contributed heavily for the Tornado defense.
James Woods and Noah Allen forced a pair of Pride fumbles, while Allen, Grequenceo Coger Jr., Ernest Smith II, and Trey Williams all totaled QB sacks. Dylan James broke up a team-high three passes, while Bass (three QBH) and Naylor (two QBH) put pressure on the Greensboro quarterbacks throughout the contest.
Greensboro's offense was paced by starting QB David Loughry II, who logged 231 yards through the air with a TD. Cale Matthews had a team-high seven catches for 110 yards and a touchdown, while KJ Greer added a pair of receptions for 51 yards. Defensively, Max Steele, Kagayo Mangungu, and Imanuel Ellis each logged seven tackles apiece.
Brevard was able to total season-highs in passing (253) and rushing yards (137) for a combined 390 yards of total offense. The Tornados averaged 4.3 yards-per-carry and outgained the Pride on offense 390-289. BC's stout defense stuffed the Greensboro rushing attack, and limited the Pride to just eight net yards total on the ground (0-3 yards-per-carry)
Greensboro was able to hold a 281-253 edge through the air, and went 7-for-18 (39%) on third down compared to BC's 3-for-11 (27%) mark.
Brevard was able to use an 11-play, 54-yard drive to set up a 27-yard field goal attempt on its first possession, but Damalos' effort was no good amidst windy and rainy conditions. However, after forcing a Greensboro punt defensively, the Tornados were able to capitalize with a four-play, 62-yard drive that was highlighted by a 22-yard Jonathan Woods reception and Orr's 23-yard touchdown catch.
BC's defense forced a punt after one of Greensboro's longer possessions of the first half before the Tornado offense used a nine-play, 85-yard possession capped off with Hayes' three-yard touchdown run, giving the hosts a 14-0 lead with 11:34 left in the second quarter.
After forcing a punt deep in GC territory and getting opportune field possession on the visitor's 29-yard-line, Hayes found O'Leary with a third-down five-yard TD pass in the right side of the end zone, giving the Tornados a 21-0 lead.
Yancey picked off his first career pass on a first-down pass in Brevard territory on the ensuing possession. The sophomore from Monroe, Georgia finished with four tackles on the evening.
BC extended its lead even further with a seven-play, 77-yard drive that finished with Lee-Parker's first Tornado touchdown - a 15-yard burst up the middle - as the Tornados held a commanding 28-0 advantage heading into halftime capping off a 21-point second quarter for the Tornados.
GC used an 11-play, 65-yard drive capped with a two-yard touchdown run by Christian Burgess to cut into the deficit, 28-7. After a short kickoff and a few big offensive plays by BC, Damalos drilled a 35-yard field goal to push its lead back up to a 31-7 margin.
With time ticking down in the third period, the Pride struck again offensively, as Loughry II found Matthews for a 35-yard touchdown connection, but a missed extra point left the score 31-13 in favor of the hosts.
A defensive slugfest ensued in the fourth stanza, as the Pride forced a BC punt followed by Naylor's interception that halted an eight-play, 40-yard Greensboro drive. Damalos was unable to hit from 44 yards out, but the game was put on ice as a 12-play, 34-yard GC drive elapsed the remainder of the clock, giving Brevard its first win of the season in its USA South opener, 31-13.
The Tornados prepare for Homecoming 2022 on the Brevard College campus, as the festivities center around a 2 p.m. kickoff on Saturday, October 8 against Methodist University at Ives-Lemel Family Field.
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-BC-