Brentwood rode the foot of placekicker Isaac Hayes in the first half and sealed an opening night win with a pair of second-half rushing touchdowns from senior Adam Fontechia in downing Blackman 23-14 at home Friday night.
Hayes provided all of the Bruins' first-half points as the junior kept the game close, 7-6 at halftime.
Hayes' 34-yard field goal put Brentwood up 3-0.
"It was awesome to hit those field goals, two 50s almost," Hayes said after the game. "I work on it a lot. I work on my craft."
"That was a huge job by Isaac Hayes," said Brentwood head coach Clint Finch. "He kept us close. We weren't happy getting 3s as we would have liked to get seven, but you think how important that was to keep us ahead two or three points or within striking distance all night."
Big moments are nothing new to Hayes, who, as a sophomore last season, kicked the winning field goal in a Class 6A first-round playoff game at Germantown.
"That was just a great experience for me coming into this year," Hayes said.
"Oh my gosh, he is one special kid," Fontechia said about Hayes. "He's very talented. He's going places for sure."
Fontechia's 1-yard touchdown run later in the third quarter put Brentwood up 16-7.
Fontechia was competing with Grant Nelson during the preseason for the starting quarterback spot. Nelson started for the Bruins, completing 9 of 17 passes for 34 yards.
"Grant was ready, so we put him in," Fontechia said about the starting quarterback spot. "They moved me back to safety. I'm still a threat on offense, running the ball. We have a little package that we run there. ... When I get my chance, I take it."
Finch said there will be times when both players will line up at quarterback.
However, Blackman came right back after Fontechia's score as Risner again connected with Marshall, this time on an 80-yard strike, hitting Marshall in stride as the Blaze closed to within 16-14.
But the explosive Blackman offense was otherwise kept in check throughout most of the night.
"We're pretty good when Fontechia plays defense, so we don't want to use him too much (on offense)," said Brentwood head coach Clint Finch. "They (Nelson and Fontechia) are team-first kids, they understand their roles.
Finch felt the ground game in the end proved to be a difference-maker in the contest. "We were able to run the ball and wear them down in the second half," he said.
Brentwood's Homzi Nassar led all rushers with 87 yards on 21 carries.
Blackman never caught up after Fontechia's second 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter, as the Bruins went up 23-14, defeating the Blaze in what could be considered an early-season upset.
"No one counted on us (winning)," Fontechia said. "That fueled us up and every week that is going to fuel us."
The win evened the all-time series between the two schools at 7-7.
"We're a good team. I know we've got it," said Hayes. "They always doubt us, we always keep winning."