Sewanee, TN- The Brevard College Tornados used a diverse attack utilizing three RBs to run for 205 yards in all, and QB Ethan Beamish threw for 115 yards to upend the Sewanee Tigers, 26-10. Defensively, the Tornados held the Tigers to 271 total yards. The Tigers looked to gain yards effectively early to their Tight End. As the game went on, they tended to avoid that strategy as noted by our Guest Game Analys and SU Alum David Oakley (SU class of ’69). Between two QBs, Cam Beasley and Jacorin Thomas, the Tigers could find no offensive solutions to overcome Brevard College. Both QBs completed six passes each for 59 and 53 yards respectively.
For Collegefootballfan.com, we attended this game to enjoy the memories of our own college football experience attending a game at the D-3 level. In this game, we watched a game at a new stadium at a somewhat historic school, Sewanee, also known as the University of the South. In a historical sense, and you wouldn’t know by the pictures here, that Sewanee was a charter member of the Southeastern Conference (SEC) in the 1930s.
Our Sewanee alum Guest Game Analyst (GGA)
Attending today came a former alum and Sewanee football player, David Oakley, who’s now a friend from our local gym. We took the opportunity to savor a game together at the DIII level, and with a friend we could share some common memories with. Next week, we step back into the big-time. This was a nice break, however, to watch the guys who play as hard at the lowest level of NCAA football, mainly for just the love of this great game.
Beautiful day and setting to watch a college football game
The Tornados put seven on the scoreboard on their first possession. They drove 78 yards as second-team QB Colson Sigler carried it in from the two. With Thomas at QB for Sewanee, two completions to TE Cooper Alford for 19 yards and another to Dyer Barnes for 12 put the Tigers in field goal range. Levi Dorsey came through with three points from 37. We looked forward to a see-saw battle at this point. Instead, both defenses forced punts midway through the second period.
Brevard takes control
At the Tornado 32, the Tigers went for a first down on fourth and short. Brevard stopped them cold and took over from there. They drove 54 yards on nine plays and Hayden Vandegriff extended the lead 10-3 with a 35-yard FG. The Tornado defense held the Tigers to a three-and out at the Sewanee 15. A short punt started Brevard on offense at the SU 39. RB Jaiden Deaton (88 yards, TD) rambled 21 yards to the four. From there, he took it in to go into the half with a 17-3 lead for the visitors from North Carolina.
Tiger backs to the wall
Brevard’s first possession in the second half resulted in a punt putting Sewanee back on their 11. The Tigers could not move against the strong Tornado defense. The Tornados maintained good field position and Sam Vargas boomed a 60-yard punt to start SU, this time on the one. On the first attempt for breathing room, DL James Laycock made the stop in the end zone for a safety. Laycock dominated at the line today with six tackles, four tackles for loss and two QB sacks. Now he extended the Brevard College lead, 19-3, in the third.
Brevard Tornados still in control
Once again, Sewanee had to punt from its own 12 after a three-and-out. Brevard took over at the SU 48. Zion Fauntleroy-McDaniel (88 rushing yards, TD) sailed 18 yards around right end to put the Tornados up, 26-3. Sewanee finally put together a 65-yard drive with Cam Beasley running it in from the six with 10:17 remaining. David and I gave SU a chance to show us a fight to the finish. They forced a Brevard punt. However, their ensuing drive resulted in a fumble with Brevard starting at their 46. No comeback in the making here. That closed the final score for us at 26-10. David and I headed out for a few cold beers at our tailgate on a nice but hot, sunny day at his alma mater.
The good old days
David reminisced about his dad leaving him at the gates of Sewanee back in the 60’s and telling him, “You’re on your own from now on.” David was the first in his family to go to college. His Dad went back home to go back to work. He reminisced about his first beer back in the 60s at the Smokehouse Lodge we passed coming off I-65. He said as long as you could afford it, you could buy it no matter what your age. When he attended Sewanee back then, it was men only. Women matriculated a few years later. Beer was a necessity.
Regarding football, he played tailback in the old Single Wing formation. The ball was snapped directly back to the tailback. The other three backs lined up generally to one side of the tailback. He wasn’t big, but his Tennessee Hall of Fame Head Coach Shirley Majors figured he was good enough and quick enough to handle the position. In those days, Sewanee played schools like Washington & Lee, Randolph Macon, Rhodes, Cumberland and Hampden-Sydney among others. Most still play D-3.
The Sewanee campus scene
Like me, he had to look up Brevard to find out it was just south of Ashville, NC. We tailgated near the well-manicured Sewanee baseball stadium. There was also a goat pasture nearby. The school had an agricultural department and some of the crops grown on campus were served at the school cafeteria when David attended. Beautiful, wooded campus. The school still has about 1,200 students in all, now with women, of course. Hopefully we can get out there again next year as his Tigers start to win some more football games. We hope HC Andy McCollum can lead the Tigers to their first winning record in 25 years!
WEEK Four coming up and moving back up
Brevard (1-1) heads back to its Ives-Lemel Family Field to host D-2 Erskine College for the first time. Located in Due West, South Carolina, Erskine is a member of the new Conference Carolinas. Eight hundred students attend Erskine. Thereafter, the remainder of the BC slate turns to it seven-game USA South Atlantic Conference. Sewanee heads to Rocky Mount, NC to take on the NC Wesleyan Fighting Bishops. Their schedule then starts to heat up in the Southern Athletic Assocation. Both Brevard and Sewanee’s conferences compete for bids in the DIII playoffs in late November.
We at collegefootballfan.com had planned to try to get to the Morehead State at Austin Peay game at 6 pm following the game in Sewanee. It didn’t’ make sense logistically nor logically from our perspective. Thinking more clearly now, aborted the idea after a few beers at our tailgate. Game started too early to even get there in the first half for us. Just as well, APSU blew out the MSU Eagles 56-7.
As a Pioneer League team, the Eagles and other members play without scholarships. We avoided the Stetson (Pioneer member) vs. UT Chattanooga last night also based on seeing them play another Pioneer member, Davidson, the year before. Without scholarships, teams in this FCS conference are close to DIII status. Saturday night, UT Chattanooga beat Stetson in similar fashion, 63-0. Most of the Pioneer League scores Saturday indicated big losses to other non-conference FCS opponents. We have to remember that in the future.
Back to the “big time” next week
However, we step back into Football Bowl Subdivision play next Saturday night with a big one. We head up to Bloomington, Indiana where the No. 19 Indiana Hoosiers host the No. 9 Fighting Illini of Illinois in a Big Ten clash. This should be a blast to start up the first many great competitive games through the end of our regular season before playoffs and bowl games. Follow us and check out the rest of our schedule by clicking here.
And our tales keep rolling along but catch our 45 previous seasons of games!
Click on the title of my book about this life-long adventure: Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun, and the Ugly on Amazon.com. Read the reviews on the book page and get your copy today! If you’re trying to follow NILs and transfer portals, read what we predicted in 2023 and more. You’ll see we know what we’re talking about. In addition, we offered solutions to issues occurring that we anticipated when we wrote this book. Based on our game story above, this fun, unique life-long Journey continues. Catch up on the last 45 years, and then please submit a review. We hope you will get a kick out of our great adventure having seen every (well 134) FBS team play over the years! Two newest to be added later this season.
Edited by and photos taken by Steve Koreivo – Member of Football Writers Association of America and Author of Fifty Years of Tailgate Tales: The Good, the Fun and the Ugly.