Punxsutawney Wins the Route 36 Trophy Game by Beating Brookville

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Phil Myers | September 13, 2024

Punxsutawney turned two back-to-back second half interceptions into touchdowns which ultimately was the margin of victory as the visiting Chucks handed Brookville the 34-19 loss before a nice crowd on a picture-perfect Thursday night.  The win gave Punxsutawney the much-coveted Route 36 Trophy for the next year.  Punxsy upped their record to 3-1, while Brookville falls to 1-3.

Brookville, playing without their first team quarterback, Easton Belfiore who may be lost for the year, trailed only 17-13 at halftime.  The Blue Raiders were driving to possibly take the lead on the opening possession of the third quarter when disaster struck.  What appeared to be an accurate pass by Brookville’s quarterback, Trenton Colgan, bounced off the receiver’s hands and into the arms of Maddox Hetrick who raced 69 yards untouched to the end zone to give Punxsy a 24-13 cushion.

Just 16 seconds later the Chucks’ Beau Thomas picked off another pass to give Punxsy the ball at the Brookville 16-yard line.  Five plays after that, Punxsutawney scored again and increased their lead to an unsurmountable 31-13 margin.  “These guys are always in the right place,” said Punxsy’s head coach Brandon Snyder.

Beau Thomas.

The game started off very well for the Chucks as their freshman sensation of a kicker, Owen Roker, booted home a 37-yard field goal to cap off a 9-play 55-yard drive.  Then after forcing Brookville to punt, Punxsy embarked on an 8-play 52-yard scoring drive that saw Beau Thomas bolt in from the 4-yard line to give the Chucks a 10-0 first quarter lead.

Owen Roker, in white on left, kicks the first of two FGs. Zaden Gould #3 is the holder.

Brookville answered by driving 74 yards, scoring early in the second when Tony Ceriani bounced a run outside and sped past Punxsy defenders into the end zone for the 18-yard touchdown.  It was his 6th straight carry of the drive.  That cut the Punxsy lead down to 10-7.

Brookville’s Tony Ceriani scores on 2nd play of 2nd qtr and Brookville trails 10-7. @PaFootballNews @BrookvilleRaid2 @TonyCeriani pic.twitter.com/bSMZwC320W

— Phil Myers Sr. (@Protime_PFN) September 12, 2024

Thomas then gave the Chucks their 10-point lead back when he ran 5 yards for the TD to top off a 9-play drive that covered 65 yards.

The 2^nd quarter scoring ended when Brookville scored on a Trenton Colgan to Austin Colgan 4-yard touchdown pass.  There were only 33 seconds left in the half and that score appeared to give the Blue Raiders momentum as they would receive the second half kick.

Coach Snyder recalls what the coaching staff thought process was at the intermission, “At halftime we said to win every moment.  The first moment was the kick return and on defense every play we got to keep going.  We felt like we were the ones making mistakes in the first half and eventually we capitalized.” What he was referring to was the two interceptions.

Coach Bill Morrison of Brookville said that, “defensively we weren’t pleased and offensively we moved the ball and we put some points on the board.  We felt good at halftime.  17-13 was not a bad place to be.”

Brookville (in blue) with ball.

It is amazing how just one play or two can change the complexion of a game.  That is what happened to Brookville in the third quarter.  With the ball sitting at the Punxsy 32-yard line and almost 5 minutes gone by on the drive, Hetrick grabbed the loose change out of the air and took it to the bank as they say.

Now, with the score 24-13, Brookville may have gotten impatient.  Even though Colgan was starting only his second career game, Coach Morrison had a game plan.  They wanted to run Ceriani and take pressure off of the quarterback.  Punxsy, on the other hand, wanted to stop the run and put pressure on Brookville’s quarterback to throw and throw accurately.  “When the other team has a great running back, make someone else beat you,” stated Coach Snyder.

After the Thomas pick, Hetrick scored Punxsy’s fourth touchdown by scooting into the end zone on a 4^th down run of 4 yards.  The Blue Raiders would score another touchdown on another Ceriani 18-yard jaunt.  But that was later in the 4^th quarter after Punxsy increased their lead to 34-13 when Roken kicked his second field goal, a 36-yarder.

Notes and Quotes:  Brookville actually outgained Punxsy 264 yards to 249.  Ceriani led all ball carriers with 133 yards on 26 carries and 2 touchdowns.

When asked about his freshman kicker, Coach Snyder said, “Oh man.  Owen Roker.  Oh man, that guy is spectacular.  Being able to put the ball inside the five on every kickoff and knowing once you get across the 30-yard line, you got three points.  It’s a blessing.  It really is.  It’s a blessing.

Both bands were impressive.  And both got a nice round of applause in appreciation.  It’s always a great pleasure to hear the bands at halftime of any high school football game.

Brookville is at DuBois next week.  Punxsy will host Karns City.

Score by Quarters:

Punxsutawney – 10 7 14 3 – 34

Brookville – 0 13 0 6 – 19

Scoring Summary:

First Quarter:

P – Owen Roker, 37-yard field goal, 7:01

P – Beau Thomas 4-yard run, (Roker PAT), 3:35

Second Quarter:

B – Tony Ceriani 18-yard run, (Gannon McMaster PAT),11:18

P – Thomas, 5-yard run (Roker PAT), 8:29

B – Austin Colgan 6-yard pass from Trenton Colgan, (PAT blocked), 0:33

Third Quarter:

P – Maddox Hetrick 69-yard interception return, (Roker PAT), 7:06

P – Hetrick 6-yard run, (Roker PAT), 4:33

Fourth Quarter:

P – Owen Roker, 36-yard field goal, 6:40

B – Ceriani 18-yard run, (2-point conversion failed), 4:16

Individual Stats:

Rushing: P – Jordan Rutan 10-72, Beau Thomas 6-28, Hetrick 6-18, Logan Moore 1-2, Landan Temchulla 3-(3). Totals: 26-117.  B – Tony Ceriani 26-133, Trenton Colgan 7-22, Team 1-(3), Totals: 34-152.

Receiving: P – Moore 6-78, Thomas 5-53, Noah Kengersky 1-5, Rutan 1-(4), Totals: 13-132.  B – Sam Krug 4-51, Dante Morey 3-31, Blake Porter 2-14, Ceriani 1-10, A. Colgan 1-6, Totals: 11-112.

Passing: P – Hetrick 11 for 18, 98 yards, 1 INT, Thomas 2 for 2, 34 yards, Totals: 13 for 20, 132 yards, 1 INT.  B – T. Colgan 11 for 22, 112 yards, 3 INT.

Interceptions: P – Moore-1, Hetrick -1, Thomas – 1.  B – Porter – 1.

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