Battie scores five touchdowns as Braden River sets aside controversy, routs Lehigh Acres Lehigh

Braden River junior Brian Battie played one of the best games a running back can on Friday night, rushing 13 times for 285 yards and five touchdowns in the first half.

Battie doesn’t have to think back that far to remember the last time he had a game like that. He scored four touchdowns and had 198 yards of offense last season against Lakewood Ranch.

This is becoming a once-a-year kind of thing.

Battie’s performance Friday came in a 49-27 home Kickoff Classic victory against Lehigh Acres Lehigh High, and he credited his offensive line for opening wide gaps for him.

“Daylight, that’s it,” Battie said. “I saw green grass all night. That’s all I saw.”

The Pirates’ win came after a tumultuous offseason that included a forfeiture of their spring workouts because of impermissible offseason workouts, impermissible use of a Hudl account to watch video of other local teams and having two players from last year’s team, including one who’s still on the team, ruled as having received impermissible benefits.

The Pirates were without head coach Curt Bradley, who was serving a suspension. Offensive coordinator Eric Sanders filled Bradley’s position.

“Our kids are ready to play,” Sanders said. “Going through some adversity here. It’s not fair to them, and they came out ready to play, and that’s what it’s all about. It’s about them. The funnest part is playing beneath the lights. Finally, they got to do that.”

Braden River plans to appeal the ineligible status of senior Knowledge McDaniel at the next section appeal committee meeting on Sept. 6. McDaniel, last year’s Bradenton Herald Offensive Player of the Year, caught 75 passes for 1,360 yards and 14 touchdowns in 2017.

“Without Coach Bradley and Knowledge, that just, it really forced us to work 10 times harder and it really showed tonight,” Battie said. “We want them, we need them, but we’re going to do our best for them every week until they come back.”

The Pirates offense clicked without McDaniel — though against a team that has had just one winning season in the past eight years and went 3-5 last season — gaining 489 yards in the first half. Of course, 285 yards, or 58 percent, of that belonged to Battie.

“He’s dynamic,” Sanders said. “He can do a lot of different things. He can go up inside, he can bounce it outside. You can get him in open space and make guys miss. He’s the total package.”