When the Brookwood football team needed tough yards – or any yards at all – they looked for a 15-year-old running back for assistance. And sophomore Brayden Tyson responded.
Tyson rushed 23 times for 248 yards and three touchdowns and caught four passes for 71 yards and one touchdown to lead the Broncos to a 32-29 road win over Peachtree Ridge on Friday night.
“We knew they were going to load the box,” interim Brookwood coach Chad Nighbert said. “We knew they were going to bring an extra guy over there but we still ran the same way because we have faith in No. 24. Brayden is a special, special player.”
Tyson entered the game with 1,308 yards rushing and 17 touchdowns and was coming off a school-record 362-yard performance against rival Parkview.
The win clinched a Region 7-6A playoff spot for Brookwood (5-3, 4-1) and likely relegated Peachtree Ridge (3-5, 2-3) to a fourth-place finish. Brookwood finishes with gams against Duluth and Norcross. Peachtree Ridge finishes against Parkview and Berkmar.
“We talk about adversity all the time,” Nighbert said. “Before the game I told them this was the type of game it was going to be. We weren’t scared or nervous or worried. We knew it was going to be a back-and-forth game.”
It was a hard-fought win for Brookwood, which trailed 22-12 after Peachtree Ridge’s Ryan Nelson recovered a muffed punt at the 8 and King Thomas caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Darnell Kelly at 5:17 left in the third quarter.
Brookwood got the points back on a 26-yard touchdown pass from C.J. Franklin to Will Hagelgan, but surrendered an 11-play scoring drive capped by Seddric Addison’s 1-yard touchdown run. That gave the Lions a 28-19 lead at the end of the third quarter.
But the Broncos weren’t finished. They made it 29-26 on a 4-yard Tyson run and scored the game winning touchdown on a 14-yard run by Tyson with 3:56 remaining.
Peachtree Ridge had one final chance and pushed the ball to the 21, where they failed to convert a third- and fourth-down pass.
Franklin was 9-for-13 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns. He also ran 13 times for 38 yards.
Peachtree Ridge quarterback Darnell Kelly completed his first nine passes and finished 21 of 31 passes with one interception and three touchdowns for 174 yards. Bryce Green carried 10 times for 101 yards and caught one pass for six yards. Addison rushed for 46 yards and one touchdown. Thomas caught seven passes for 41 yards an Kobe Adeleke caught five passes for 48 yards.
Peachtree Ridge’s first touchdown drive began on its own 5. The Lions scored on a 24-yard touchdown pass from Kelly to Hokes, then made it 8-0 when Kelly ran for the two-point conversion.
Brookwood’s first score was set up by Jeramiah Jackson interception. The Broncos got a 32-yard reception from Franklin to Tyson, who completed the drive with a 4-yard run. Brookwood’s two-point run failed, leaving Peachtree Ridge with an 8-6 lead.
Brookwood finished the half with a 92-yard scoring drive. The big play was a 25-yard run by Tyson and he scored on a 27-yard run with 37 seconds left in the half. The two-point run failed and Brookwood led 12-8 at the half.
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