Baylor Dominates Santaluces In Opener

Written By: Jay Pace (@TheRealJayPace)

CHATTANOOGA, TN -Still smarting from last season’s TSSAA Division I-AAA championship game loss to its rival McCallie, Baylor opened the 2025 season Friday night looking like a team with something to prove.

Mission accomplished.

Santaluces (FL), led by fifth-year head coach Herman Clavijo, trekked 700-miles north for a 13-hour bus trip to play a football game. 

What they found was a buzzsaw.

The Baylor Red Raiders, stacked with elite talent across the field, wasted no time showing its firepower. On the second play from scrimmage, quarterback Briggs Cherry hit wideout Kaiden Dewey for a long touchdown. The Red Raiders were on the board just 46 seconds into the season.

The Onslaught

It was a sign of things to come.

Junior running back David Gabriel Georges, Tennessee’s reigning Mr. Football, punched in a short score to add to their lead midway through the first quarter. Georges finished with three touchdowns and more than 100 yards on the ground, to lead all rushers.

By the end of the first quarter, Baylor was up 28-0. At halftime, the lead had swelled to 49-0.

Briggs Cherry, who is now 13-1 as a starter, was in complete command, picking apart a Chiefs defense that had no answers. Baylor, widely regarded as Tennessee’s top team entering the 2025 season, looked every bit the part.

Looking Ahead

The Red Raiders’ schedule stiffens next week when they face a familiar foe in Rabun Gap-Nacoochee, a nearby North Georgia powerhouse. These two teams have met each of the last four seasons, splitting the past two contests. Rabun Gap won 35-24 in Baylor head coach Erik Kimrey’s first year, while Baylor got payback last season with a 21-14 victory. Baylor holds a 3–1 edge in the series going back to 2021.

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