Catch Him if You Can: McMinn Central’s Bay Harbison
A Much Different Situation
Covering high school football players is a blessing for this author. I have enjoyed every kid I have had the opportunity to watch, interview, and write about, but on October 6, I had a situation that was different from anything I had done as of yet.
Chattanooga Tyner visited McMinn Central. Tyner is the reigning Class 2A State Champions. The Central Chargers have a senior wide receiver and defensive back, Bay Harbison. Bay is not only a player I love to watch, he is also a member of the church where I pastor. I have been able to see him make great plays on various occasions. But, the greatest joy for me is that I have been able to watch him grow into the great young man that he has become. Bay comes from a great family, and he is carrying that legacy well.
A Slow Start, but Exciting Finish
McMinn Central controlled most of the game, and there was no sense that they would lose. They had one of those games where everything was going their way. They had running touchdowns, passing touchdowns and they even scored a touchdown because of a bad snap that went over the head of Tyner’s quarterback and into the endzone. For Bay, it had not begun as he wanted it to. At one point he walked over to me and mentioned that Tyner was double and triple teaming him, and he just could not get open. Right after that, it all changed.
Tyner was not backing off of Bay. They were covering him tight, but then he got his break. The quarterback took the snap, and Bay ran to the flat on a wheel route. Instead of staying on Bay, this time, the safety bit toward the middle of the field. Bay ran to the corner of the end zone, and the safety did not have the make-up speed, and the pass was thrown to Bay, wide open in the corner of the end zone for his first touchdown of the game. The defense did not stand a chance.
An Even More Impressive Play
One of the things that separates great receivers from mediocre ones is that they will catch the ball anywhere on the field, including the middle. For his second touchdown Bay ran across the middle of the field. The quarterback threw it to him, and the catch was nothing short of amazing. It was one of those catches that took incredible athletic ability. Bay jumped up and grabbed the ball with his fingertips. For some players it would have gone over their heads. For others, the fear of who might hit them would have kept them from grabbing it, but not for Bay. It was the kind of catch and pass that you might not see even if you watch many high school games.
After coming down with the ball secured, Bay worked against defenders in the middle of the field and in the secondary and he took it to the house for his second touchdown of the game. The game ended on a great note by both Bay and the Chargers. Bay had 5 catches for 123 yards and a pair of touchdowns. McMinn Central defeated Tyner 48-34.
