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Brooke Scores 33-Straight, Downs John Marshall

Tagged under: Gameday Hub, News, Non-PIAA, pfn

| October 18, 2024

Wellsburg – Brooke scored 33 consecutive points en route to a 33-6 victory over John Marshall Thursday night at Brooke Memorial Stadium.

 The 2024 season thus far hasn’t been kind to the Brooke Bruins. That all changed in a major way Thursday night.

Brooke scored 33 consecutive points, including a 20-0 run in the second half, as the Bruins equaled their season-high with 33 points to bury the Monarchs. 

Before Thursday, Brooke’s lone victory came 33-14 against Lincoln County on September 27th. Brooke had lost 54-0 to Bridgeport and 42-0 to Frankfort the past two weeks.

Both schools post unblemished records, however. The Indians boast a 7-0 record, and the Falcons are 6-0.

“This is the most complete game we’ve played this year,” said Brooke head coach Casey Goff. “We still have to clean some things up as we close the year out, especially against a team like Sharon next week. This was a big night for our overall progress as a program.”

Special teams and defense led the way as Brooke got four field goals from Chase Hile and an interception return for a touchdown from Triston Stevens.

The Bruins intercepted four passes in the game and forced five turnovers. Darion Hilton got Brooke’s offense in the end zone for the first time in three weeks when he caught a 14-yard touchdown pass from Ty Sperringer with 58 seconds to play in the first half.

“That was definitely a big momentum changer. The second that happened, we were off to the races,” said Hilton. “We were disciplined tonight. We were able to lock in whenever we needed to.”

Brayden McFarland returned the kickoff 58 yards to the Monarchs’ 27-yard line to set up the score.

Darion Hilton added an interception and fumble recovery to his resume.

“It feels amazing,” Hilton said. “It’s truly a great feeling to be out here with my boys and do what we must do. We started rough, losing a lot of seniors from last year. We’ve learned how to collaborate as a team and get things done.”

John Marshall had taken a 6-0 lead when Hayden Gaiser hauled in a 44-yard touchdown pass from Kayden Knapp.

Brooke had turned the Monarchs away twice prior, including on a 4th-and-8 from the Bruins’ 12-yard line on the game’s initial drive. They went on a 17-play, 68-yard drive before turning the ball over on downs. 

“I’m not a big fan of bend, but don’t break,” Goff said. “I wasn’t happy they were in the red zone, but to step up the way we did on a couple series like that was huge. Then, we could settle in, get more aggressive, and play some great defense.”

In a bizarre twist to close the first half, Chase Hile connected on a 22-yard field, giving Brooke a 10-6 lead with two seconds to play in the half.

On the ensuing kickoff, Hile squibbed the ball down the field, and Brooke recovered the ball. Because John Marshall never touched the ball, only one second came off the clock, and Hile could connect from 40 yards out, giving the Bruins a 13-6 halftime lead.

“That series was enormous for us,” said Goff. “That was a big swing. Chase made a hell of a kick there. We just wanted to squib the ball and get out of there. But that thing took a great bounce, and we jumped on it with a second to go.”

Hile would add 27 and 42-yard field goals in the third stanza, pushing the Bruins lead to 19-6 after three quarters.

“Chase is the real deal,” Goff said. “We have all the confidence in the world to put him out here and kick field goals.” 

Midway through the fourth, Triston Stevens put the nail in the coffin when he intercepted a tipped ball and raced 70 yards for a touchdown.

It was one of three second-half interceptions. The final was by Sperringer at the Bruins 4-yard line with under four minutes to play.

Two plays later, Sperringer ran 51 yards, setting up Dante Tulenko’s 46-yard touchdown run a play later.

Tulenko rushed for 96 yards on 22 carries, while Sperringer completed 4-of-11 passes for 34 yards with a touchdown and interception. He also ran for 47 yards.

“We knew what we wanted to do regarding running the football,” said Goff. “They loaded the box a little bit. We took advantage of it for a while by hitting the hitch. It got to a point where we wouldn’t be careless with the football. Our defense was playing great football; we could take shots, but it wasn’t necessary.”

John Marshall was led by Maverick Lemasters, who rushed for a game-high 100 yards on 23 attempts. 

Quarterback Kayden Knapp completed 13-of-33 passes for 168 yards, a touchdown, and four interceptions. Knapp completed only 5-of-21 passes in the second half.

“We harp on technique and fell off slightly in that first half,” concluded Goff. “We did a great job pressuring him after that. A few of those balls were a chuck-and-duck. Every aspect contributed to those picks. Those did what we’ve coached them to do, and it was great to see those things click tonight.”  

Brooke will attempt to keep things rolling when they travel to Pennsylvania to take on Sharon next Friday night. 

The Tigers have a 7-1 record and are ranked fourth in Pennsylvania Class AAA. Brooke would be a Class 6A school in Pennsylvania. 

In contrast, Sharon would be a Class AA school in West Virginia.

Game Highlights:

Brooke 33 John Marshall 6

Score by Quarters

John Marshall – 0 6 0 0 – 6

Brooke – 0 13 6 14 – 33

Scoring Summary

Second Quarter

JM – Hayden Gaiser 44 yd pass from Kayden Knapp, (rush failed), 2:17 – 2-51

B – Darion Hilton 14 yd pass from Ty Sperringer, (Chase Hile pat), 0:58 – 3-27

B – Hile 22 yd field goal, 0:02 – 3-46

B – Hile 40 yd field, 0:00 – 1-0

Third Quarter

B – Hile 27 yd field goal, 4:45 – 6-34

B – Hile 42 yd field goal, 2:55 – 4-(-1)

Fourth Quarter

B – Triston Stevens 70 yd interception return, (Hile pat), 5:37

B – Dante Tulenko 46 yd run, (Hile pat), 2:11 – 3-96

Individual Stats

Rushing: JM – Maverick Lemasters 23-100, IsaacSwauger 1-10, Dalton Cooper 1-4, Kaden Bungard 1-3, Marshall Holland 1-2, Knapp 1-(-5), Team 2-(-7). Totals: 30-107. B – Dante Tulenko 22-96, Triston Stevens 1-46, Sperringer 6-47, Team 2-(-12). Totals: 31-177.

Receiving: JM – Cain Martin 3-37, Xavier Wells 1-13, Gaiser 2-49, Landon Snyder 1-8, Bungard 2-22, Lemasters 4-39. B – Hilton 1-14, Grant Yost 2-30, Tulenko 1-4.

Passing: JM – Knapp 13-for-33, 168 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT. B – Sperringer 4-for-11, 34 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT.

Interceptions: JM – Zane Cubick. B – Hilton, Brayden McFarland, Stevens, Sperringer. 

 

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