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Broome finds end zone five times as Mustangs blank Lions for first time
NASHVILLE – Getting to Lipscomb Academy late on Friday meant a long walk and a standing-room-only spot.
It was just the kind of atmosphere the Mustangs wanted to make their biggest statement of the season so far.
Behind five touchdowns from Boston College commit Alex Broome, the Mustangs rolled to a 38-0 victory over visiting CPA, putting themselves in a position to lock up the region title next week against Battle Ground Academy.
“Amazing. The crowd was rocking,” Broome said. “Biggest game in Middle Tennessee, I’m sure. Obviously, CPA’s a great team, so I had to come in with the mentality that we had to keep at it for four quarters and that’s what we did.”
Broome racked up 265 total yards (189 rushing, 76 receiving) on 34 touches as his case for Mr. Football honors only improved with nominations due next week.
His touchdown runs came from 3, 6, 7, and 64 yards, and his receiving touchdown was a 26-yard trek where he started left and ended up back at the right sideline, plowing his way into the end zone to put the Mustangs (8-1 overall, 4-0 Division II-AA Middle) up 21-0 early in the second quarter.
Broome admittedly has thought somewhat about the honor awarded to the top players in each classification, but only briefly.
“Yeah, a little bit,” Broome said. “Whoever wins it, it’s fine. Our ultimate goal – go win a state championship.”
His biggest competition may very well come from his own backfield, as Luther Richesson continued his stellar senior campaign, throwing for 276 yards in the win, though he did throw his first interception of the season on Friday.
Lipscomb Academy head coach Trent Dilfer said that while both standouts are deserving, their bigger contributions are in helping build the Mustangs’ season right now.
“I don’t think either one of them cares (about who might win Mr. Football),” Dilfer said. “I think they’d vote for each other – they’re those kinds of kids. When your best players are your best humans, your best leaders, your best students, and your hardest workers, you can have a special culture and that’s what we have right now. We have a special culture here right now and it’s largely due to the two of them.”
Lipscomb Academy rolled up 472 yards of total offense and held CPA to 215 total yards in collecting its first shutout over the Lions. It’s only the fourth time the Mustangs have defeated CPA in 12 tries in school history.
If CPA head coach Ingle Martin has his way, history could repeat itself, however. The Mustangs won the regular-season meeting last year before the Lions claimed the rematch in the BlueCross Bowl state championship game.
“We’ve got six weeks (until a possible BlueCross Bowl rematch) – high school kids can get a lot better in six weeks,” Martin said. “That’s over half a regular season, so we’re excited about the opportunity that’s in front of us, which is to bounce back after some adversity.”
That adversity came in the form of losing three fumbles and committing eight penalties for 60 yards, one which wiped out what would have been a long touchdown pass from Cade Law to Dawson Marrero.
Martin said it won’t be as easy as simply flushing the loss and putting it behind them. There are things to be learned from it.
“You gotta learn – the Oakland loss, this loss – you gotta learn from it,” Martin said. “Turnovers, costly penalties for us. We’ve got to play better, tackle when we’ve got a chance to.”
To do that, CPA (7-2, 3-1) will turn to its leadership to refocus on the remainder of the season.
“For us, it’s always our seniors (that we need to lead),” Martin said. “This group has played a lot of football. They’ve been in a lot of games. The biggest thing is when this kind of situation happens – for them, this is new – you’ve got to go out and see how you respond. This is why sports are so important for kids. You’ve got adversity right in front of them, in front of a lot of people. Most people’s adversity happens behind the scenes. Now we’ve got to circle the wagons, as they say.”
The Mustangs host BGA and clinch the Division II-Class AA Middle Region title with a win. CPA travels to Davidson Academy in its regular-season finale and will finish second with a win.
LIPSCOMB ACADEMY 38, CPA 0
| CPA (7-2, 3-1 Division II-AA Middle), Lipscomb Academy (8-1, 4-0) | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| CPA | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Lipscomb Academy | 7 | 14 | 7 | 10 | 38 |
SCORING SUMMARY
1st Quarter
L – Alex Broome 6 run, 1:14. Grant Hyatt kick.
2nd Quarter
L – Broome 7 run, 10:25. Hyatt kick.
L – Broome 26 pass from Luther Richesson, 9:46. Hyatt kick.
3rd Quarter
L – Broome 64 run, 5:47. Hyatt kick.
4th Quarter
L – Hyatt 25 field goal, 11:50.
L – Broome 3 run, 6:14. Hyatt kick.
| CPA | Lipscomb Academy | |
| First Downs | 11 | 25 |
| Rushes-Yards | 31-96 | 34-222 |
| Pass Attempts-Completions- Interceptions | 7-20-0 | 23-29-1 |
| Passing Yards | 119 | 276 |
| Punts – Average | 4-41.3 | 2-24.5 |
| Fumbles-Lost | 3-3 | 0-0 |
| Penalties | 8-60 | 11-123 |
INDIVIDUAL STATS
Rushing
CPA: Langston Patterson 12-45, Cade Law 14-35, Dawson Marrero 2-9, Reid Madden 1-7, Tripp Lodge 1-2, Reid Williford 1-(-2).
Lipscomb Academy: Alex Broome 28-215, Carlin Walker 3-17, Luther Richesson 3-(-10).
Passing
CPA: Law 6-18-0 78, Thomas Vaccaro 1-2-0 41.
Lipscomb Academy: Richesson 23-29-1 276.
Receiving
CPA: Trey Brown 1-41, Williford 1-19, London Humphreys 2-18, Andersen Kail 1-17, Bo Burklow 1-13, Scott Shipman 1-11.
Lipscomb Academy: Beau Dawson 3-83, Broome 7-76, Coleman Baker 4-61, Junior Sherrill 7-32, Nathan Spillman 2-24.
