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Baylor Defeats Brentwood Academy Again in State Championship Rematch

Baylor edged Brentwood Academy 38-20 in a highly-anticipated season-opener in Tennessee, a rematch of last year's D-II AAA state championship game.
Harry Lichtman|
Baylor's David Gabriel-Georges (0) tries to evade Brentwood Academy's Hill Strong (7) during the first half at Baylor in Chattanooga, Tenn., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026.
Baylor's David Gabriel-Georges (0) tries to evade Brentwood Academy's Hill Strong (7) during the first half at Baylor in Chattanooga, Tenn., Thursday, Aug. 20, 2026. | USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Baylor opened the 2026 high school football season against Brentwood Academy, the team they beat in last year's Tennessee state championship game. Thursday's game had the same result.

The Red Raiders scored on their first offensive possession, which resulted in senior transfer and Ole Miss commit Keegan Croucher connecting with Antwaun Adams for a 39-yard touchdown pass. While Croucher played most of the game at quarterback, freshman Marshall Manning (son of NFL Hall of Famer Peyton) entered the game for a couple plays in the second quarter, completing a pass.

However, the key player for Baylor's offense on Thursday was senior running back and Tennessee commit David Gabriel Georges. He finished the game with 172 rushing yards, 78 receiving yards, and three fourth-quarter rushing touchdowns. Gabriel Georges also made tons of highlight plays, whether he flipped and landed on his feet or was spun around by defenders but kept going.

Senior Khori Faulkner also stepped up on both sides of the ball, finishing with an interception and a red zone touchdown run.

Meanwhile, the Eagles never led throughout the night, but they had their moments. Senior quarterback Crews Jenkins, also an Ole Miss commit, completed two long touchdown passes on the night. One was a 67-yard strike to Lexton Baskin, and the other an 80-yard catch-and-run by Kesean Bowman right before halftime.

This highly-anticipated game also featured multiple penalties and ended with 2:08 left due to lightning. Nevertheless, both teams look promising for the 2026 season.

Scroll through the live update blog below for the scoring plays, key moments and updates from throughout Thursday night's Baylor vs. Brentwood Academy game.

Refresh for For Game Updates

FINAL
Baylor 38, Brentwood Academy 20

UPDATE: The game has been called due to lightning.

TOUCHDOWN! Gabriel Georges scores for the third time on a short run. Baylor leads 38-20 with 2:08 left in the game.

Gabriel Georges keeps pounding the rock to keep the clock moving in the fourth.

On 1st and 10 near midfield, Gabriel Georges runs to the right down the sideline for a big gain and another first down. But a holding call negates the run.

On 2nd and 3, Jenkins gets sacked by Cortez Carr Jr. Carr makes another key tackle on the next play, resulting in a 3-and-out for Brentwood.

TOUCHDOWN! On 1st and goal, Gabriel Georges scores his second touchdown, this time from three yards out. Baylor leads 31-20 with 10:17 left in the game.

On 1st and 10 at the 14, Croucher runs play-action and rolls to the right, finds Adams inside the 5 for a 1st and goal.

On 1st and 10 from their own 40, Croucher throws a swing pass to Gabriel Georges, who sheds some tackles and loses his helmet for a HUGE gain. A facemask call moves Baylor 15 yards.

TOUCHDOWN! On the first play of Brentwood's next drive, they run play-action and Jenkins finds a wide open Kesean Bowman near the sideline as he races to the house for an 80-yard score. BA trails 24-20 early in the fourth.

TOUCHDOWN! On 2nd and 5, Gabriel Georges finds a hole and breaks a tackle, scampering into the end zone from eight yards out. Baylor leads 24-13.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, the ball is snapped low, but Croucher picks it up and connects with Beckham Stokes over the middle just shy of the first down. BA's Jamison Humphries gets injured on the play.

END OF 3RD QUARTER
Baylor 17, Brentwood Academy 13

A holding penalty (yet another penalty) moves Baylor back. 3rd quarter ends.

On 2nd and 10, Gabriel Georges goes untouched for a big gain and another first down. A facemask call moves Baylor even further downfield.

On 1st and 10, Croucher gets sacked trying to avoid presure. Then, Gabriel Georges shakes a tackler and picks up 13 yards. He then picks up the first down by cutting, then spinning into Brentwood territory.

After another touchback, Baylor takes over at their own 20. On 2nd and 4, Jean-Pierre Eto'o gets the first down on a short carry.

FIELD GOAL! Owen Davies converts on a 26-yard chip shot field goal. Brentwood Academy trails 17-13 with 5:31 left in the third quarter.

On the first three attempts, Brentwood attempts to score with Sanders, but is denied all three times.

On 1st and 10 at the 27, Sanders makes some moves and scampers inside the 10 for a first down.

On 3rd and 16, Croucher takes his time, then fires a deep pass which is intercepted by Roman Jennings, who takes it into Baylor territory. BA ball.

Second half is underway, as Baylor begins at their own 20. On 3rd and 4, Croucher throws a short pass to Braxton Rein who picks up some yardage for the first down.

HALFTIME
Baylor 17, Brentwood Academy 10

BA's ensuing kickoff lands in the end zone for a touchback. Baylor takes over at their own 20. Croucher takes a couple knees to run the clock out in the first half.

TOUCHDOWN! On the next play, Jenkins fires a deep pass and connects with Lex Baskin, who races towards the end zone for a 67-yard touchdown. Baskin gets penalized for unsportsmanlike conduct. Brentwood Academy trails 17-10 with 49 seconds left in the half.

On the first play, Crews Jenkins connects with Kesean Bowman near the sideline for a first down. But Bowman gets injured on the play.

Baylor's ensuing kickoff lands in the end zone for a touchback. Brentwood Academy takes over at the 20.

TOUCHDOWN! On 3rd and goal, Khori Faulkner takes the handoff, bounces to the outside and scores from one yard out. Baylor leads 17-3 with 1:17 left in the first half.

Croucher throws a swing pass to Hank DeGennaro, who picks up the first down. Penalty goes against the defense and is declined.

On 3rd and 5, Gabriel Georges bursts through the defense and gets the first down.

Croucher fumbles the snap and scrambles back towards midfield and forward again, then somehow finds Gabriel Georges for a four-yard gain.

Keegan Croucher re-enters the game. After an incomplete pass, an unsportsmanlike conduct call on the defense results in a first down.

Backup quarterback Marshall Manning (son of Peyton) then enters the game. On his first play, he rolls to his right and connects with Adams near the sideline but short of the first down. Then Gabriel Georges gets the first down on a short run.

Snap is low, but Croucher keeps it himself and picks up the first down.

On the first play, Keegan Croucher avoids pressure and scampers up the middle, then slides short of the first down.

Brentwood's ensuing kickoff goes into the end zone for a touchback. Baylor takes over at their own 20.

FIELD GOAL! On 4th and 10, Owen Davies attempts a 49-yard field goal goes through the uprights. Brentwood Academy trails 10-3.

An encroachment call on the offense moves Brentwood back to the Baylor 40. Crews Jenkins avoids multiple defenders and keeps it himself to pick up 11 yards.

A false start call moves Brentwood back five yards. A solid run by Sanders then gets called back due to an offensive holding call.

Sanders then breaks tackles and scampers around multiple defenders for an 11-yard carry and another first down.

On 2nd and 3, Larry Sanders II picks up six yards on the carry for a first down into Baylor territory. On the next play, Sanders bulldozes through multiple defenders and picks up 13 yards for another first down.

Braylen Bedford receives the ensuing kickoff and gets a nice return up to around the BA 40.

END OF 1ST QUARTER
Baylor 10, Brentwood Academy 0

FIELD GOAL! The last play of the first quarter is a 42-yard-field goal attempt Sam Shutters, which doinks off the right upright and through. Baylor leads 10-0.

An offensive holding call moves Baylor back 10 yards.

The ball is fumbled by Croucher on the snap, but Gabriel Georges picks the ball up and adds some yardage.

Keegan Croucher then looks and finds Antwaun Adams near the end zone as he goes in for the touchdown. But an illegal man downfield penalty negates the score.

Baylor runs an option play as Croucher keeps it himself and picks up five yards. David Gabriel Georges then scampers towards the sideline and gets the first down near the 20.

Baylor runs a flea-flicker play as Croucher fires a deep pass intended for Antwaun Adams but the ball is batted down by Romel Koon.

Baylor runs play-action as Keegan Croucher finds David Gabriel Georges who picks up yardage for the first down into Brentwood territory.

Brentwood Academy shanks the punt and Baylor takes over at around their own 35.

Brentwood Academy is unable to move the ball on 3rd and 17 and they are forced to punt. Timeout called by Baylor.

A holding call on Larry Sanders moves Brentwood Academy back into their own territory. On 2nd and 26, they run play-action as Jenkins connects with Baskin who picks up a ton of yardage but shy of the first down. However, a holding call negates the play.

On 3rd and 10, Crews Jenkins finds a wide open Lexton Baskin for a first down near the Baylor 40.

On the first play, Larry Sanders II picks up two yards on the carry, but a facemask penalty moves Brentwood Academy 15 yards.

Baylor punts the ball out of bounds near the 15-yard-line.

David Gabriel Georges gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage by Jack Berry. Baylor then attempts to go for it on 4th and 7, but a false start penalty moves them back five yards and they punt.

On 3rd and 14, Keegan Croucher's deep pass is incomplete, but a defensive holding call moves Baylor up nine yards.

On 2nd and 7, David Gabriel Georges takes the handoff and gets the first down. But a holding call negates the run.

On the very first play, Crews Jenkins completes a pass over the middle to Lexton Baskin, but the ball gets knocked loose in the air and Khori Faulkner takes the ball away with an interception. Baylor takes over in BA territory.

Brentwood Academy begins its next offensive possession at the 20 after another touchback.

TOUCHDOWN! On 3rd and 9, Keegan Croucher fires a deep pass to Antwaun Adams for the score. Baylor leads 7-0 with 9:04 left in the first quarter.

David Gabriel Georges scampers and gets flipped, but somehow stays on his feet for a nice gain.

A holding penalty moves Baylor back and closer to midfield. But then it's declined.

A nice scamper by Baylor quarterback Keegan Croucher is negated by a block in the back.

Antwaun Adams takes the punt into BA territory with good field position for Baylor's offense.

A delay of game penalty moves BA back five yards on 3rd down. They go 3-and-out and are forced to punt.

On the first play, Larry Sanders gets tackled behind the line of scrimmage by Khori Faulkner for a loss of two yards.

Opening kickoff goes into the end zone for a touchback, and we are underway.

Brentwood Academy wins the coin toss and elects to receive the opening kickoff.

10 minutes to kickoff.

Brentwood Academy is dressed in white pants and jerseys with red trim and numbers, as well as red helmets.

Baylor is dressed in white pants and red jerseys with white trim and numbers, as well as silver helmets.

20 minutes to kickoff.

• Kickoff is schedule for 7 p.m. CT. Follow all night for our updates.

Preview

What: Brentwood Academy vs. Baylor
When: Thursday, Aug. 20 - 7 p.m. CT
Where: Heywood Stadium in Chattanooga

Brentwood Academy is Seeking Revenge

Brentwood Academy (11-1) had a dominant, undefeated 2025 season before falling to Baylor in the state championship game. Now they look for revenge in this highly-anticipated season-opener in Chattanooga.

The Eagles' offense is led by senior quarterback and Ole Miss commit Crews Jenkins, who has a key target in 4-star senior Kesean Bowman. Last year, Jenkins completed 68-percent of his passes for 1,827 yards with 22 touchdowns. Meanwhile, Bowman hauled in 49 catches for 655 yards and 11 touchdowns. In the backfield, there's senior running back Larry Sanders, who racked up 1,833 yards on 238 carries, along with 31 touchdowns.

Brentwood Academy's offense also has a couple new transfers in senior offensive lineman and Auburn commit Rance Brown, who moved from Alabama, along with senior tight end and South Carolina signee Judah Lancaster, who came from IMG Academy.

As for the defense, the Eagles feature returning players such as senior linebackers Kenneth Simon, Roman Jennings, and Romel Koon. There's also junior safety Braylen Bedford, who transferred from Mississippi.

Baylor Looks to Repeat 2025 Success

Baylor (12-0 in 2025) capped off a perfect season and enters 2026 at No. 9 on High School On SI's Preseason Power 25 National Rankings. The Red Raiders edged Brentwood Academy 28-24 in last year's state championship game in the rain.

Baylor is led by last year's MaxPreps National Player of the Year in running back and Tennessee commit David Gabriel Georges. In 2025, Gabriel Georges rushed for 1,756 yards and 27 touchdowns. In the state championship game, he added 212 total yards and two touchdowns to give the Red Raiders their third state title.

Filling in for Louisville's Briggs Cherry, Baylor has a new starting quarterback in Keegan Croucher, who transferred from Connecticut and is an Ole Miss commit. Another notable signal-caller on the Red Raiders' roster is freshman Marshall Manning, the son of legendary NFL quarterback and Pro Football Hall-of-Famer Peyton Manning.

Baylor has a few other senior recruits to take note of, including 3-star offensive lineman and East Carolina commit Cash Freeman, 3-star EDGE and Tulane commit Hans Emery Julien, and 3-star linebacker and South Florida recruit Khori Faulkner.

During his time at Baylor, head coach Erik Kimrey has led the team to two state championships and two state runner-up finishes.

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Published | Modified
Harry Lichtman
HARRY LICHTMAN

Harry Lichtman is a sports reporter based in Montgomery County, MD and the DC area. He also writes for Capitals Outsider and LastWordOnSports, and previously wrote for MLB Report, The Sports Pulse, the Baltimore Jewish Times, the Montgomery County Sentinel, and The Bottom Line newspaper at Frostburg State University. In 2020, Harry won an MDDC Press award for a story about former high school lacrosse head coach Jeff Fritz. Harry has been writing since 2016.

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