BREVARD – Three Brevard running backs surpassed 100 yards Saturday afternoon.
Belhaven's entire offense finished with two rushing yards.
That disparity told much of the story as Brevard opened USA South play with a dominant 51-8 victory over the Blazers at Ives-Lemel Family Field, keeping the Tornados unbeaten at 4-0.
Brevard rushed for 336 yards and five touchdowns while averaging 9.3 yards per carry. On the other side, a swarming Tornado defense recorded eight sacks and 13 tackles for loss while limiting Belhaven to 155 total yards.
Marvin Reed Jr. set the tone.
After a penalty backed Brevard up on its opening possession, the Tornados drove 94 yards in eight plays. Reed finished it by breaking loose for a 38-yard touchdown and a 7-0 lead.
Belhaven twice threatened to answer in the first quarter, but came away empty both times. Brevard stopped the Blazers on fourth-and-one at the Tornado 28, then DJ Stevenson intercepted Ian Burleson inside the Brevard red zone later in the period.
The game remained 7-0 until late in the second quarter, when Brevard began to pull away.
Reed scored on a 33-yard run with 3:31 remaining, and the defense quickly forced Belhaven to punt from its own end zone. Brevard took over at the Blazers' 49 and needed only five plays to score again, with Reed punching it in from five yards out with 37 seconds left.
His third touchdown sent the Tornados into halftime ahead 21-0.
Brevard's defense had allowed just 56 yards in the half.
The Tornados continued to separate themselves after the break. Christian Conley capped an 11-play drive with a six-yard touchdown pass to Herbert Pringle IV, pushing the lead to 28-0.
Belhaven then drove into Brevard territory, but consecutive sacks by the Tornado defense ended the threat on downs.
Two plays later, Zion Fauntleroy-McDaniel raced 58 yards for another touchdown.
Belhaven finally broke through when Matthew Dial connected with Wyatt Locastro for an 18-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter. Johnathan Lampkin caught the two-point conversion to make it 35-8.
Any momentum lasted 20 seconds.
On Brevard's next offensive snap, King Faison broke an 83-yard touchdown run.
Then the Tornado defense joined the scoring.
Azian-Antonio Simpson-Santiago tackled Julien Tabor in the end zone for a safety less than a minute later. On Belhaven's next punt, Cruz Wilson muffed the ball near his own goal line and DeShawn Allen recovered it in the end zone for another Brevard touchdown.
In less than three-and-a-half minutes of the fourth quarter, the score had gone from 35-8 to 51-8.
The rushing numbers were remarkable.
Fauntleroy-McDaniel led Brevard with 118 yards on seven carries, Reed finished with 103 yards and three touchdowns on 11 attempts, and Faison added 101 yards on nine carries. Together, the trio averaged more than 11 yards per attempt. Conley complemented the ground game by completing 17-of-24 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown.
Brevard's defense was just as disruptive. The Tornados produced 13 tackles for loss totaling 101 yards and eight sacks for 83 yards. Simpson-Santiago recorded three tackles for loss, while Stevenson added his interception.
The result sent Brevard to 4-0 overall and 1-0 in USA South play.
More importantly, the Tornados opened conference play by demonstrating they could dominate a game on both sides of the line of scrimmage.
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