KANE — Donny Pattison had a second half performance on the football field Saturday night that most kids can only dream of.
In a game that Bradford really wanted — and needed — on the road against Kane, Pattison sparked his team to a second half comeback and led the Owls to 36 unanswered points to give Bradford its second victory of the season.
The first 24 minutes were nothing short of disastrous for the Owls. Four turnovers (all on botched center-quarterback handoffs), and just 16 offensive plays led to a 14-7 deficit to the Wolves.
All it took to spark Bradford was Pattison, better ball security and a little too much trash-talking from the Wolves sideline.
“We just told them (at halftime) that it was gut-check time,” Bradford head coach Jeff Puglio said. “We came out and (Kane) popped off to us and that got us going. That’s basically what it was; they fired us up more than the coaches did.”
Whatever the reason, Bradford wasted no time turning the tide of the game. Pattison took the second half’s opening kickoff 85 yards to the end zone to begin what would soon turn into a rout.
After a Kane three-and-out on the following possession, the Owls got the ball back on offense and let the running attack go to work. Derek Sunafrank (12 carries for 87 yards) scored on a 43-yard run before Pattison galloped for an 82 yard-score giving the Owls three consecutive big play touchdowns to open the half.
With 5:43 remaining in the third quarter, Bradford had turned its 14-7 halftime deficit into a 29-14 lead.
“The first half we just keep shooting ourselves in the foot and fumbling snaps and we just made a couple of adjustments at halftime and something sparked for all of us,” Pattison said humbly while discussing his performance. “It was good to have everyone on the same page in that half because that’s what we’ve been waiting for.”
The Owls did not let off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter, either. Pattison added two more rushing touchdowns from one and two yards, respectively, to give the senior 228 all-purpose yards before he was pulled from the game mid-way through the fourth.
“He just was possessed,” Puglio said. “He wanted the ball, he wanted to tackle. The first touchdown (of the game) he threw a block that took the kid 10 yards. He was fired up and just ready to go.”
Jaron Ambrose also had a big game on the ground for the Owls with eight touches for 100 yards and 54-yard rushing score to open the game.
“The offensive line was just fantastic,” Pattison said. “I couldn’t ask for a better group up front in that second half.”
Pattison, one of Bradford’s starting safeties, also helped anchor a defensive unit that stifled the Wolves in the second half.
After throwing for 88 yards and a touchdown in the first half, Kane quarterback Zuke Smith did not complete a single throw over the final two quarters. It was even uglier on the ground for the Wolves, as they had eight rushing plays stopped for either no gain or a loss of yards.
The loss sent Kane, which had not lost a regular season game since 2014 entering the season, to 0-3 on the year.
“We just started to show some life,” Puglio said. “That’s the first time all year — no matter what we’ve been doing — that’s the first life we’ve shown and we are going to need it next week.”
Both Puglio and Pattison admitted that Saturday’s win had a little something extra to it. After all, the Owls — like most Division 9 teams — have been dominated by Kane over the last few years. Bradford had lost to Kane 95-26 combined in the last two meetings, something certainly not forgotten by Puglio or his group of nearly 30 seniors.
“It felt so good,” Pattison said. “I mean this is a game we all circled on our schedules. They really handed it to us the last two years, but to come in here and get a win is great. I think it’s going to send a message the rest of the season.”
“It’s a rivalry for us now,” Puglio added. “A lot of people from Kane work in Bradford so there’s a lot of proximity there. It’s always nice to win games like this.”
The win sets up a huge game next week at Parkway Field against undefeated Ridgway. The many mistakes Bradford made in the first half against Kane will certainly have to be cleaned up in short time. The most pressing is those fumbles. The Owls committed eight in the game (five recovered by Kane), and it led to Puglio replacing starting quarterback Nate Blauser with Caleb Nuzzo in the second half because of them.
“We’re not really sure what happened,” Puglio admitted. “That is definitely something that we are going to take a long, hard look at because we spotted them points and gave them the ball inside the five. That won’t work next week.”
Puglio commended Nuzzo for settling the offense down and allowing Bradford to finally utilize its game plan against Kane.
And while a quarterback decision is looming before Friday’s game, Puglio is just hoping his team’s second half effort against Kane can carry over for this week, and the rest of the year.
“That third and fourth quarter, that’s the level we need to play at,” he said. “If we can play at that level, we will be a tough team to beat.”
AT KANE
BY QUARTERS
Bradford 0 7 22 7—43
Kane 0 14 0 0—14
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: Brad 12, Kane 10; Rushes/Yards Rushing: Brad: 33-330, Kane: 32-130; Yards Passing: Brad: 47, Kane 88; Comp-Att-Int: Brad: 2-4-0, Kane: 5-26-0; Penalties: Brad: 6-60, Kane: 7-80; Fumbles-Lost: Brad: 8-5, Kane: 3-0; Total Yards: Brad: 377, Kane: 218; Offensive Plays: Brad: 49, Kane: 60
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing: Brad: Nate Blauser 2-4-47-0-0; Kane: Zuke Smith 5-26-88-1-0
Rushing: Brad: Donny Pattison 13-143-3, Jaron Ambrose 8-100-1, Derek Sunafrank 12-87-1; Kane: Smith 9-83-1, Aiden Hulings 5-15, Jake Alcorn 9-10, Harley Morris 1-4, Josh Buhl 5-7, Mason Metz 1-3
Receiving: Brad: Ambrose 2-47; Kane: Austin Jordan 1-13, Race 2-27, Alcorn 3-62-1
Scoring summary
First quarter
Brad: Jaron Ambrose, 54-yard run (Caleb Nuzzo PAT), 10:12
Second quarter
Kane: Zuke Smith, 1-yard run (Alcorn run), 6:37
Kane: Jake Alcorn, 6-yard pass from Smith (2-pt attempt failed), 2:21
Third quarter
Brad: Donny Pattison, 85-yard kickoff return (Blauser run), 11:45
Brad: Derek Sunafrank, 45-yard run (Nuzzo PAT), 9:51
Brad: Pattison, 82-yard run (Nuzzo PAT), 5:43
Fourth quarter
Brad: Pattison, 1-yard run (Nuzzo PAT), 11:30
Brad: Pattison, 12-yard run (Nuzzo PAT), 5:38
