Bradford’s defense took up the slack when the offense sputtered
in the second half and the Owls remained unbeaten with a 28-7
decision over Punxsutawney Friday night.
The triumph put Bradford at 2-0 in the District 9 League and 3-0
on the season.
The Owls built a 21-0 lead in the first half, but struggled
through a mistake-prone third quarter, before taking on a final
score with 4 1/2 minutes left in the game.
“When we shot ourselves in the foot offensively, our defense
hung in and kept them (Chucks) off the board,” said Steve Ackerman,
Bradford head coach.
“Our defense played very well. It bent but didn’t break and it
never let them in the game.”
The Owls’ defense forced the Chucks to give up the ball on downs
six times in the game and came up with a fumble recovery to set up
Bradford’s final score.
“We felt this week that Punxsy was going to smash the ball right
at us. The Smiley kid (Mike) is a good back, but once they got
inside our 20, we stopped them each time,” Ackerman pointed
out.
Offensively, the Owls started the game sharply, needing only
five plays to put the first points of the game on the board.
Junior quarterback Ben Walter capped a 93-yard drive with a
perfect pass to Tommy Morris for a 44-yard touchdown strike just
over four minutes into the game. Steve Butler kicked the extra
point to make it 7-0.
A bad snap on a punt attempt by the Chucks gave Bradford the
ball 2 1/2 minutes later, and the Owls needed just one play for
E.J. Moore to step off the final 24 yards into the end zone. Butler
split the uprights to make it 14-0.
The visitors then upped their lead to 21 points with just over
four minutes left in the half. Starting at his 9-yard line, Walter
found Moore open for 16 yards, fullback Taylor O’Brien tested the
middle for 13 more and Moore ran for 41 yards to put the ball at
the Chucks’ 6.
On the next play, O’Brien rumbled into the end zone. Butler’s
third kick was perfect and the Owls held a 21-0 lead at
halftime.
Bradford’s offense moved the ball in the third quarter, but
couldn’t get it intothe end zone. On the Owls’ best drive of the
period, they got inside the Chucks’ 10 and fumbled the ball
away.
“We took control of the game right away, and then turned it over
in the third quarter,” Ackerman stated.
“You can’t play like that with those types of mistakes and
penalties and be a championship team.”
“We weren’t focused and they (Chucks) woke us up a little,” he
added.
Punxsy’s wake-up call came with 4:22 left in the game when
quarterback Zach Smith found Austin Furman open for a 60-yard
touchdown pass.
K.J. Starr kicked the PAT to make it a 21-7 game and give Chucks
fans something to cheer about.
Their hopes were dashed 10 seconds later however, when Moore, on
the first play from scrimmage, took Punxsy’s failed onside kick
attempt 43 yards for his second touchdown of the night.
Butler made it four in a row on the PAT kick for the final 28-7
score.
“The mistakes tonight were upsetting and we need to correct
them, but the defense played well and we moved the ball,” Ackerman
concluded.
The Owls rang up over 350 yards of offense, led by Moore with
173 rushing yards.
Bradford returns to action next Friday night hosting the Warren
Dragons.
