ST. MARYS – Bradford High’s District 9 League game with winless
St. Marys Friday night was supposed to be a runaway.

It wasn’t!’

The final score and most of the statistics may indicate
otherwise, but the 5-0 Owls earned their victory.

A scrappy Dutch squad, fueled by the excitement of Homecoming
and facing an unbeaten team, hung with Bradford into the fourth
quarter before a pair of Ben Walter touchdown passes sealed the
Owls’ 35-14 victory.

“St. Marys gave us all we could handle and then some,” said
Steve Ackerman, Bradford coach. “They slapped us pretty good
tonight and we really had to gut this one out.”

Bradford started the game as everyone expected, taking just
three plays to score on its first possession after forcing St.
Marys to punt.

With the ball at the Dutch 38, E.J. Moore ran for a first down
and two plays later fullback Taylor O’Brien scampered into the end
zone from 16 yards out for the touchdown. Steve Butler kicked the
PAT to make it 7-0.

The Dutch weren’t intimidated, however.

Getting the ball at their own 45, St. Marys opened holes in
Bradford’s normally stout defense. A pass from quarterback Bryan
Dempsey to Kurt Baumgratz had the ball inside the Owls’ 10 yard
line.

Three plays later Brian Tamburlin scooted into the end zone from
three yards out for the score. The PAT kick was no good, but the
Dutch were on the board, 7-6.

The teams finished out the opening quarter separated by only one
point, before the Owls struck again just over two minutes into the
second period.

After getting a touchdown called back because of a penalty and
then being hit with another infraction, Bradford got a 17-yard run
from Moore and then Walter threw his first TD pass of the night,
hooking up with Nick Johnson for a 19-yard six-pointer. Butler’s
kick was true and the visitors were up 14-6.

Bradford looked like it was going to blow the game open when it
scored on its next possession as well.

Getting the ball at their 39, the Owls got first down yardage
from Moore and an additional 15 yards via a Dutch penalty to put
the ball just outside the St. Marys 30.

O’Brien rumbled for first down yardage and two plays later was
in the end zone from five yards out. Butler kicked his third PAT of
the half to make it 21-6 at intermission.

Bradford got the ball to start the second half, but an
interception by the Dutch ended the drive and St. Marys capitalized
on the opportunity.

Starting at their own 43, the Dutch steadily pushed Bradford’s
defense back. Runs by Tamburlin and Dempsey, as well as a Dempsey
to Todd Schatz pass had the ball resting inside Bradford’s 20 yard
line.

Tamburlin took over from there, bursting into the end zone from
15 yards out for his second touchdown of the night. A penalty on
Bradford gave St. Marys a second chance at the two-point conversion
and this time Tamburlin got the PAT to make it a seven-point game,
21-14, and Dutch fans were thinking upset.

As play moved into the final quarter, Walter, Bradford’s junior
quarterback, erased their high hopes, however, with the two
touchdown passes.

Walter set up the first strike with a long pass to Moore and two
plays later found Johnson open for the score. Butler added the PAT
to make it 28-14.

St. Marys coach Joe Schlimm felt the long pass to Moore was
where the game made its final swing in favor of the visitors.

“The play of the night was Walter’s pass down the sidelines,”
Schlimm explained. “The score was 21-14 in the fourth quarter and
we had a shot at them. That play really changed the momentum.”

It was the Owls’ defense that set up Walter’s final aerial TD
after holding the Dutch on downs inside their own 40 yard line.

O’Brien picked up a big first down, and Moore and Johnson
continued moving the chains. Walter capped the drive with a 15-yard
touchdown pass to Moore standing in the back of the end zone.
Butler kicked his fifth PAT of the night for the final 35-14
score.

Butler’s five kicked extra points runs his string to 15, another
new Bradford High record.

“I give all the credit in the world to Joe (Schlimm) and their
kids,” Ackerman noted. “They were prepared for us.

“We would hit something here and there, and then they would just
stuff us. I hope we learn a lesson from this game.”

For St. Marys it was a bit of a moral victory, but still not a
“W” in the book as the Dutch fell to 0-5.

“It was a matter of a couple plays,” Schlimm observed. “Bradford
made some big plays, particularly on third down. We had a shot and
it just didn’t work out.

“I can’t complain because we have good kids and they played
hard. They gave it all they had and we just came up a little short
score wise.

“We’ve been competitive in every game and we just can’t get
down,” he added.

Bradford returns to action next Friday hosting Brookville as the
Owls’ Homecoming opponent, while St. Marys will play DuBois.