The Bradford Owls ended on a peak in a season of valleys with a
55-41 non-league gridiron victory over Warren at Parkway Field on
Friday.
The two teams combined for 96 points, 871 yards of offense and
just two Warren punts in the highest-scoring game in Bradford
football history.
“I can’t believe there would be a higher-scoring game,” said
Steve Ackerman, BHS head coach. “That was a whole lot of
frustration coming out of our side tonight. We showed some flashes
of what might’ve been. We didn’t play like that all year.”
Josh Holleran rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns, and
Nick Johnson also scored three times and had 109 yards on the
ground.
Southpaw quarterback Ben Walter looked like USC’s Matt Leinart
at times and was 9-for-13 for 132 yards as the Owls amassed 305
rushing yards and 165 through the air.
“Our running backs ran hard and Ben was on with his passing
game,” Ackerman recalled. “We were physical and our offensive line
did a great job. Everything went right for a change.”
The Owls never punted as every possession of the evening
culminated in a touchdown, although one went the wrong way for a
Warren score early in the third quarter.
“We stopped ourselves when a holding penalty put us in a hole,”
Ackerman admitted. “Other than that, we scored every time we had
the ball.”
After the Dragons (4-6) punted on its first possession of the
contest, a 24-yard pass from Walter to Holleran set up Holleran’s
33-yard TD run.
Steve Butler booted the first of his seven extra points and it
was 7-0 with 7:27 showing on the malfunctioning clock.
Warren answered with a 17-yard scoring strike from Ben Paul to
Kenny Feaster and Josh McCaslin’s PAT to tie it at 7-7 with 2:51
left in the opening period.
The Owls re-answered as a 33-yard halfback pass from Nick Foster
to Taylor O’Brien led to Garrett McEwen’s two-yard TD plunge.
Butler’s kick made it 14-7 with 11:55 left in the half.
The Dragons re-re-answered with a 14-play, 66-yard march that
was finalized with a five-yard run by Paul after a fake handoff.
Warren was penalized five yards on the extra point and McCaslin’s
effort was wide left to leave the visitors trailing 14-13 with 5:03
remaining.
Holleran then fielded the ensuing kickoff at his 19, handed off
to Tommy Morris at the 25 who streaked down the left sideline, but
a Bradford clip at the Warren 36 brought the pigskin back to the
Owls’ 49.
Walter then completed an 11-yard aerial to Morris, a 16-yarder
to Holleran and another 22-yarder to Morris for a first-and-goal at
the 3.
On the next snap Holleran sidestepped a would-be tackler in the
backfield and slipped through a gap on the left side for the score
with 2:07 remaining. Butler’s line drive was right up the middle as
the Owls led 21-13 at the intermission.
Disaster then struck for Bradford in the third stanza when
Walter’s arm was hit at his own 3 by Zack Mattern. The ball floated
to the 5 where defensive lineman Chris Guiffre hauled it in and
rumbled to paydirt.
Paul hit Cole Boje for the two-pointer and was 21-all with 9:45
left.
Bradford regained the lead at 28-21 at the 5:07 juncture on a
one-yard pitch to Johnson, but Warren retaliated with a 13-yard
scoring pass from Paul to Nathan Bovard with 1:11 showing. O’Brien
blocked the PAT attempt to keep the Owls in front 28-27.
It took only 71 seconds for the hosts to reach the end zone as a
22-yard hookup from Walter to Foster was a prelude to Johnson’s
58-yard jaunt through a monstrous hole up the middle on the last
play of the third quarter. There was a bad snap on the extra point,
but Bradford still led 34-27 after three.
The Dragons tied it at 34-34 with 8:41 remaining on a two-yard
keeper by Paul, but the Owls returned the volley at 41-34 with 5:27
left on a four-yard TD by Holleran.
Warren came back in less than a minute when a third-and-14 from
its own 22 resulted in a 78-yard pass from Paul to Boje. McCaslin’s
kick was good for a 41-all deadlock with 4:30 on the clock.
The Arena-like football game then turned in the Owls’ favor when
a 39-yard burst by Holleran assisted on Johnson’s 10-yard TD
run.
After Warren punted for just the second time, Walter almost went
down in the backfield, but then the sophomore QB raced around right
end and tip-toed down the sideline for the 52-yard score. Butler
creamed the PAT halfway to the BRMC construction site with 2:02
left and it was all over but the hugging.
While the Dragons head into the District 10 AAA playoffs next
week, the Owls’ 2005 campaign is over at 3-7.
“It’s nice to end the season like that,” Ackerman stated. “It
doesn’t make our record easier to swallow, but it leaves a good
taste in our mouths going into the off-season.”
It was the final game for Holleran, Bob Colts, Zack Coon, Stefan
Arlington, Rob Gault, Drew Hammack, John Lonzi, Josh Defilippo,
Jeff Kessel and Brandon Cook.
“The seniors got a do-over and it worked out in their favor,”
Ackerman concluded.
