DAPHNE — The Bayside Academy defense put on another clinic and held Cottage Hill out of the end zone until the final 1:23 to extend a win streak and remain undefeated in Class 3A Region 1 with a 27-7 victory Friday night at Freedom Field.

The Admirals entered as the 34th-ranked defense in the Alabama High School Athletic Association then set the tone with a first-quarter interception from senior Palmer Angermeier. The fourth single-digit effort dropped Bayside Academy’s average point allowance to 11 points per game to move to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in region.

Junior linebacker Monroe Partin, the state’s 10th-leading tackler entering play according to MaxPreps, said it all starts at the line of scrimmage.

“We’re just playing hard, our (front seven) is really where it all starts,” Partin said. “Me and Billy (Neill) and the linebackers, we’re just playing hard and fast.”

“Super consistent, we fly around to the football,” Admiral head coach Barrett Trotter said of the defense. “I think that’s one of the best things we do is control the line of scrimmage. And those guys make tackles and rally to the ball, it’s fun watching them play.”

Offense catches fire

Opposite them, the Bayside Academy offense got going early and often and took a 20-0 lead into halftime. However, two more touchdowns were scored on the field but were called back for penalties.

“(Bo Miller) really stepped up and had a good night. Offensively, I thought we played one of our best games, other than the penalties. If we clean up penalties, I think overall we feel a lot better after this win,” Trotter said. “We had to overcome some things that our guys didn’t blink at with some long third downs but overall was proud of our guys. Thought we moved the ball really well.”

The sophomore quarterback Miller delivered a touchdown pass to senior Burk Brown on one of those third-and-long situations to complete a 19-yard score.

Miller escaped pressure in the backfield on 3rd-and-16 and stepped up to find a wide-open Brown who had come from across the formation and provided a bobbling catch while falling down to cap an eight-play, three-minute drive. The signal-caller went 8-of-13 passing for 99 yards and the touchdown in the first half as well as recorded 21 rushing yards on 3 carries according to unofficial stats.

Ivan makes an impact in all three phases

Junior kicker Nathan Ivan was deployed in all three phases of Friday night’s game. Not only did he handle the punting and kicking duties for the Admirals, which included field goals of 34 and 40 yards, Ivan also ran the ball for 7 yards and delivered an open-field tackle on defense.

“He’s an unbelievable athlete and we’re trying to get him on the field,” Trotter said. “Obviously, he’s got an extremely good leg as a kicker but ultimately, he’s a really valuable guy.”

Ground game, familiar faces take over

Bayside Academy went to the ground to finish it out and leaned on junior linebacker Billy Neill who registered the other two touchdowns with short-yardage runs out of the heavy formation, as well as classmate Brennen Yamane who was returning from injury.

Yamane, who spent last year playing for the national-champion IMG Academy Ascenders, returned to the Admirals but sprained his ankle in the summertime then suffered an avulsion fracture in the same ankle before the regular season. He practiced this week then ran for 36 yards on 8 carries with a long of 16.

“With the support of my teammates and coaches, the transition was definitely easier,” Yamane said. “I’m definitely rusty and I’m a perfectionist, no matter how well or bad I perform I’m always going to have critiques about myself.”

“He’s very consistent and he worked his tail off to get back and get healthy these last few weeks so I’m really proud of him for that,” Trotter said of his running back.

Sophomore Caid Lyons also paced the running game with 84 rushing yards on 13 carries with a long of 46 in addition to a 19-yard reception.

Defense puts it away

The Bayside Academy defensive performance also included two three-and-outs as well as a turnover on downs in the first half where Partin said the unit executed the game plan.

“Just play fast and be physical. We knew we had to stop the run, their run game is good so we knew we had to stop the screens as well and we did that,” Partin said. “We executed well and everything went according to the plan.”

From Yamane’s perspective, the defensive effort complemented the offense well.

“Lights out. I think that with 25 (Partin) and 8 (Neill) and everyone else backing them up like (Noah) Cain and Burk Brown, all of them are absolute players,” Yamane said. “I feel like if our offense can relate to them and match their energy we can go really far.”

Trotter said that by limiting Cottage Hill’s time of possession, the Admirals were only setting themselves up for success.

“Preventing explosive plays, I think that’s one of the best things we’ve done is be able to handle athletes,” Trotter said. “Because these teams we’re playing have great athletes, but we’ve been able to prevent explosive plays, make them drive down the field and normally we’re more consistent on defense than they’re consistent on offense.”

Up next

Following a season-opening loss, Bayside Academy improved to 6-1 overall and 4-0 in Class 3A Region 1 play. The Admirals are scheduled to hit the road next week to face the Excel Panthers, who lost 35-0 to T.R. Miller Friday night and fell to 4-3 overall and 3-2 in region.

The Warriors dropped to 1-6 overall and 0-4 in region play Friday night. Cottage Hill is set to return home next week to face the Monroe County Tigers who fell to Hillcrest-Evergreen 40-14 and dropped to 0-7 overall and 0-4 in region.

Money quotes

“We always have to keep the pedal on the gas,” Partin said of the halftime message. “We always have to have energy, we always have to stay hyped and if we do that, we execute.”

“Felt right back at home,” Yamane said of coming home. “It’s an experience everyone needs to have.”

“One win at a time. The only thing better than five in a row is six in a row. And the only thing better than that is seven in a row, so we just told our guys we’re going to keep stacking them up,” Trotter said.