Why MBA, despite losing record, shouldn't be counted out in TSSAA football playoffs

For the first four weeks of the 2023 season, Montgomery Bell Academy football was, in the words of senior kicker Liam Hackett, lost in fog.

The Big Red's 22-7 loss to CPA on Sept. 8 dropped them to 0-4. The next week, they fell behind Father Ryan 13-0 in the first quarter. If that held, it would have been MBA's worst start to a season since 1913.

But they stormed back to beat the Irish 24-20, kicking off a stretch of four wins in six games to close the regular season. The latest was Thursday's 24-21 win over Brentwood Academy, a game emblematic of that final stretch.

With 49 seconds left, Hackett stepped out for a 30-yard field goal — a kick he says he attempts "a million times in practice every day" — and he made it, solidifying the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the TSSAA Division II-AAA playoffs for MBA (4-6, 3-2 East Region).

After its week off, MBA will travel to face the winner of Friday's game between Christian Brothers (6-3, 2-1 West) and Ensworth (7-2, 2-1) on Nov. 10.

It's easy to point to the Father Ryan game as a turning point, the moment the fog started to clear. But not quite as apparent: Why did it clear? And how?

"Really, just the mentality," Hackett said. " . . . We're a family, we stick together. We couldn't see ahead of us, but we got out of the fog, and now we're steamrolling."

It wasn't a secret that MBA was in for a challenge this fall. Four-year starting quarterback Marcel Reed signed with Texas A&M, and top rusher Johnothan Moore and top receiver Claiborne Richards also graduated. Coach Marty Euverard had no shortage of holes to fill.

Though it didn't happen overnight, MBA has had players step up and fill those holes during the season's second half, developing an identity in the process. The Big Red aren't a high-flying offensive team anymore (just 11.3 points per game) but they grind opposing defenses down with a smashmouth approach and excel in close games. Each of their four wins have come by one possession.

"I think it's just the leadership of our seniors and captains," Euverard said. "We got (senior linebacker) Morgan Holzapfel, who I think is one of the best leaders we've ever had here. (Senior defensive lineman) Sam Hall, another one. It's just really good leadership and the culture here that they've created."

MBA leans on the prowess of junior running back Brooklen Davis, who rushed 35 times for 164 yards and a touchdown against the Eagles. Sophomore quarterback Hugh Price completed 11 of 13 passes for 90 yards and a touchdown, and added 32 yards and a touchdown rushing.

"From where (Price) started to where he is today is night and day," Euverard said. "He's getting more confident, he understands what we're trying to do. We don't have any huge game-breakers on the outside, but he makes it work on some naked bootlegs and quick stuff."

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MBA has played in five BlueCross Bowls since 2014, and has one of the proudest histories of any program in Tennessee. But the Big Red are far from being too proud to embrace being underdogs going into the playoffs.

"We're just as confident," junior tight end Fletcher Shirley said.

And in truth, it's becoming harder with each passing week to view MBA in that role at all. The Big Red are jelling right now because . . . well, why wouldn't they be?

Let Davis explain it.

"That's just a part of the MBA life. We're all brothers. We got brotherhood going on. That's just what we do."

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: TSSAA football playoffs: MBA is underdog, but still dangerous