There was more than one crowning on Homecoming night as the
Brookville Raiders ended Bradford’s dreams of a perfect season with
a physically convincing 39-21 District 9 League victory at Parkway
Field on Friday.
Afterwards, Owls’ head coach Steve Ackerman used the words
“physical and physically” and even threw in a variation of the
words that won’t be found in Webster’s dictionary.
“We got physically beat on the offensive and defensive lines,”
said Ackerman. “They (Raiders) physically manhandled us on both
fronts. I don’t know if it was their size, but they were so much
more physical than us that it wasn’t funny. We couldn’t stop them.
They just outphysicalled us.”
The Raiders, who now own an identical record as Bradford at 5-1
overall and 3-1 in D9, rushed for 304 yards. Max Kutz carried 17
times for 195 yards and two touchdowns, Joe Galbraith registered
148 yards and two scores on 18 totes, and quarterback Shane Heschke
added 61 yards rushing and another TD on eight carries.
“They (Raiders’ backfield) were five or six yards into our
second line of defense before anybody laid a hand on them,”
Ackerman confessed. “Looking at their films we knew they were
physical and I didn’t know how we would react.”
After the Owls were forced to punt on their first possession of
the game, the Raiders commenced a ground assault reminiscent of
1863 Gettysburg when a 64-yard run by Kutz set up Galbraith’s
four-yard TD blast up the middle.
If you were looking for a Brookville weakness, one could be
found in its kicking game as the extra point sailed wide left and
it was 6-0 with 4:03 left in the first quarter.
On the ensuing kickoff, it appeared Nick Johnson had tied the
game with an 88-yard return, but a block in the back at the
Brookville 40 placed the pigskin at midfield.
The Owls couldn’t advance the chains and then got the first
break of the contest when Taylor O’Brien recovered a fumble at the
Raiders’ 8.
Three plays later from the 1, it was O’Brien off left guard for
his 13th touchdown of the year. Jim Milbrandt corralled the high
snap and Steve Butler drilled the extra point for a 7-6 Bradford
advantage with nine seconds remaining in the period.
The Raiders then utilized a 26-yard keeper by Heschke and a
15-yard catch by Tyler Ross to advance to the Owls’ 28, but the
drive stalled there following three straight incompletions.
On a third-and-13 from the 25, Brett Mohney cashed in an
interception and Brookville was back in business at the Bradford
41.
A 17-yard aerial from Heschke to tight end Greg Sobol led to an
11-yard scoring run by Kutz. Mohney then made a spectacular grab in
the back of the end zone for the two-pointer and it was 14-7
Raiders with 5:18 showing in the half.
Brookville then sandwiched its only punt of the evening between
two by the Owls as the Raiders gained possession at their own 42
with 1:15 remaining and then ran the clock down to zeroes.
On the second snap of the third stanza, Kutz slipped a tackle
just beyond the line of scrimmage and darted 61 yards to the
Bradford 15. Four plays later it was Heschke’s turn to score with a
right-side keeper from four yards out.
Once again the PAT attempt went awry and it remained 20-7
Raiders at the 8:49 juncture.
“You have to give them (Raiders) all the credit in the world
(for the second half start),” Ackerman recalled. “The story of this
game is how they physically beat on us.”
The Owls were then the beneficiaries of a short kick and a
15-yard roughing-the-passer penalty to set up shop at the enemy
17.
QB Ben Walter hit Tom Morris for eight yards and a
first-and-goal, and then Walter capped the 51-yard drive with a
one-yard strike to Johnson. Butler launched the extra point halfway
to his house as the Owls cut their deficit to 20-14 with 3:25 left
in the third.
The Raiders then marched 73 yards in just eight plays and scored
on the last snap of the quarter on a six-yard burst by Kutz. The
run for two failed and it was 26-14 Brookville after three.
Another 15-yard infraction against the Raiders gave Bradford a
first down at the Brookville 48. Three snaps later Brookville’s
Alex Kerr picked off an errant throw at his own 21, followed a
convoy of blockers down the left sideline and seemingly disappeared
into another area code. The two-pointer was intercepted by Morris,
but a butt-thumping was in progress at 32-14 with 11:16
remaining.
A 35-yard run by Johnson on a double reverse put some life back
in the home crowd, but all the air was sucked back out of the
throng on the next play when Ross intercepted a pass at the Raider
23.
After a penalty moved the ball back to the 14, Galbraith somehow
emerged from a scrum on the left sideline and raced all the way to
the Bradford nine. Three plays hence from the five, it was
Galbraith on a sweep left for the touchdown. Ian Petardi then
booted the extra point, which drew a relieved cheer from the
visitors’ stands and mushroomed the margin to 39-14 at the 5:50
mark.
Twelve seconds later, Johnson was leaving his footprints in the
end zone following a 63-yard kickoff return. Butler nailed the PAT
to reduce the carnage to 39-21 and then recovered his own onside
kick.
A pair of runs totaling 26 yards by O’Brien presented the Owls
with a first down at the 11, but Bradford turned it over on downs
and the Raiders killed the remaining 3:53.
Bradford will attempt to recharge the battery when it hosts
Central Mountain in a non-league affair on Friday (7 p.m.).
“Central Mountain looked good on tape and we’ll see what
happens,” Ackerman declared. “We have to regroup and become more
physical. Let’s face it. Once you get into the playoffs you have to
be physical to win.”
