Brookwood defeats Cambridge behind SEC commits' offensive power

For about 12 minutes of game action, Brookwood’s offense appeared to be entirely centered around its running game.

South Carolina running back commit Brayden Tyson scored three touchdowns in the first quarter of an eventual 52-7 win over Cambridge at the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic on Thursday.

Then the second quarter started, and the Broncos let their other SEC commit run wild.

Or pass wild, rather.

Auburn quarterback commit Gary Chatman Jr. went to work, throwing two touchdowns and rushing for a third before halftime. Chatman and Tyson combined for six of Brookwood’s seven touchdowns in the first half.

“You can pick your poison,” Brookwood coach Chad Nighbert said. “You can try to load the box and play where Brayden doesn’t touch the ball, and then Gary’s going to be all over the place.

“Then you can try to stop the passing attack, and then Brayden’s going to do the same thing running the ball.”

Chatman finished 8-of-13 passing with 162 yards and two touchdowns through the air. The senior added another 50 yards and a score on the ground, too.

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Tyson totaled 93 yards rushing with his trio of touchdowns on just 15 carries. He averaged 6.7 yards per rush.

Brookwood snapped a two-game losing streak in the Corky Kell + Dave Hunter Classic, which it has played in for all 35 years of its existence. Last season’s game ended in a heartbreaking loss to Houston County in the final seconds of the game.

“We had a lot of animosity built up to this game from last year,” Chatman said. “We had a lot of guys bought in, and we just had to finish the drill here.”

Chatman and Tyson headline a talented Brookwood roster that Nighbert compared to the 2021 Broncos, which featured AJC Super 11 quarterback Dylan Lonergan and several other Division I players.

That was also the last Brookwood team to win a region championship and advance to the state quarterfinals.

“That team was really very much like this team,” Nighbert said. “It was very senior-laden where we had a bunch of seniors up there.”

Tyson and Chatman shared the same vision for their senior season.

“We’re hunting a legendary season,” Chatman said. “Key word: legendary.”

Tyson has another personal slogan that he wrote on his eye black Thursday: “BAD TIMING.”

“When I step on the field, it’s bad timing for the other team,” Tyson said.