HHS traveled to Chattanooga to take on Baylor, after a tough fought game by both teams, Hendersonville came up just short of knocking off Baylor as HHS lost the non-Region contest 35-41.
On the opening possession of the game, the COMMANDOS would come up 1 yard short of a first down after going for a 4thdown giving BHS the ball with great field position. After getting a 1st down by penalty, Baylor would strike first with a 3 yard TD pass, the COMMANDOS would stop a 2 point try making the score 0-6. Hendersonville would answer as #11 Luke Manning would lead the team down the field with a 1st down run and then passing for a 1st down to #10 Ellis Ellis, the drive would be capped off with an 11 yard pass from Manning to #1 Jameson Wharton. After #36 Thomas Matchell’s PAT, Hendersonville would lead 7-6. Baylor would quickly answer with a 4 yard TD run to regain the lead 7-13. HHS would put together a nice drive with 1stdowns by Wharton, #26 Stevin Mack, Ellis, Manning, and #4 Cooper Dean, but the drive would end prematurely as HHS failed to pick up another 4th down attempt. Baylor would extend their lead with a 14 yard touchdown pass making the score 7-20. A pass from Manning to #88 Jack Busey would get Hendersonville moving and Ellis would eventually score with a 24 yard run to bring HHS back to within 6. A TD pass by Baylor would be followed by a 9 yard TD run by Mack making the score 21-27. #32 Noah Carmean would recover a mishandled kickoff giving HHS a chance to take the lead before halftime, but HHS could not take advantage as they would turn the ball over with an interception and the teams would break for halftime with the score 21-27.
Baylor would score on the opening 2nd half possession and then force a turnover as HHS would fumble. Baylor would score again off the Hendersonville mistake before the COMMANDOS would take control of the game with a great drive highlighted with runs by Ellis and Manning along with catches by #88 Jack Busey. Busey would score with a 1 yard TD reception at the beginning of the 4th quarter. #8 Mason Baker would recover a fumble on the next series and HHS would again go on a scoring march with runs by Carmean and Mack. The drive would end with a 9 yard touchdown pass from Manning to Ellis. After the PAT, the score would be 35-41. HHS was unable to recover an onside kick and Baylor was able to run out the clock.
Hendersonville (5-3) will be on the road again next week as they travel to Rossview (2-6) for a Region 5-6A battle. Kickoff at Rossview is scheduled for 7:00.
