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On the road facing an elite quarterback in George MacIntyre and down by 13 at the end of the first half, CPA could have rolled over and quit. Most teams probably would have done that and started to look ahead to the next week.
That’s not what Ingle Martin-led teams do, though.
Instead, the Lions came out of the half rejuvenated, and looked like a different team. The defense shut down MacIntyre and the Eagles offense for the final two quarters and the offense finally started to click. With those two things coming together, the Lions were able to complete the second-half rally and secure the 17-16 win.
“People feed on encouragement and this is encouraging for both the coaches and the players,” Martin said. “Everything that we’ve done is headed in the right direction. There’s a lot to clean up the first week but overall, I thought we played well in all three phases and the kids gave a great effort.”
The Patterson legacy continues on at CPA
When it comes to CPA football over the last 5-10 years, two families nearly always come to mind.
There are the Laws with long-time starting quarterback Cade Law and his younger brother Crews Law, a North Carolina commit. Cade is now in college, but he and Crews are set to play together next year in Chapel Hill.
The other family is the Pattersons. Kane Patterson led the Lions to a state title in 2018 and two years later, his younger brother Langston did the same. Kane and Langston are both playing for Vanderbilt but the Patterson pipeline through CPA hasn’t ended.
Their brother Preston and Rawls are sophomores looking to build their own legacy with the Lions like their brothers did before them. Rawls added his first chapter to that new legacy Saturday night.
Down six with around four minutes remaining and deep in Brentwood Academy, Rawls had his number called. Breaking a would-be tackler, he found an open hole and strolled into the end zone for the go-ahead touchdown.
“It felt really good,” Rawls said. “It was awesome to get that lead we had been waiting for. Our line, our quarterback, and our receivers did an outstanding job.
…This moment really is neat. I watched them (Kane and Langston) do it and now to be here, it’s just cool.”
Lions’ defense as good as advertised
The story going into this matchup was how would the Lions’ defense stack up against MacIntyre and an Eagles offense filled with weapons. Aside from one MacIntyre touchdown pass and a 76-yard Tamari Hill touchdown run midway through the second quarter, the Lions’ defense passed with flying colors.
In the second half, CPA held the Eagles scoreless and never let MacIntyre get into a rhythm. As Brentwood Academy’s offense struggled, the Lions’ offense began to click thanks to its defense.
Once they took the lead on Patterson’s touchdown, CPA had to hold Brentwood Academy on one final drive. After back-to-back incomplete passes, senior linebacker Ian Magargee made life even harder on the Eagles by sacking MacIntyre and making it 4th and 27.
Senior cornerback Jackson Matthews capped off the memorable night a play later picking off MacIntyre to secure the win.
“Our defensive coordinator is the best in the state and told us they were going to run them over,” Matthews said. “I looked to my right and saw the over. From there I just went up and I got it.
…This win just tells us that we can play with anyone in the state. We’re not back down from anyone and gives us a lot of confidence going forward.”
