KARNS CITY — Time and again this season, the Bradford Owls have shown that when they’re firing on all cylinders, there aren’t many teams in District 9 they can’t beat.
It took until the fourth quarter for everything to come together on Friday in Karns City. But when it did, it was a sight to behold.
The Owls scored three touchdowns in a span of just over two minutes in the fourth quarter to defeat the Gremlins 34-21 for their fourth consecutive win, moving their record to 6-3 and improving their chances to host a playoff game.
“We were flat most of the game,” Bradford coach Jeff Puglio said. “We were in control, a couple of missed tackles here and there. We misplayed a punt. Other than that we controlled the game; we just didn’t have any fire. And then in the fourth quarter, we found the fire and we started dominating.”
Bradford got a pair of huge performances from its dynamite backfield duo of Donny Pattison and Jaron Ambrose. Pattison ran for 221 yards on 23 carries with two touchdowns, while Ambrose found the endzone three times while racking up 175 yards from scrimmage (133 receiving and 42 rushing).
Quarterback Caleb Nuzzo also had a nice game, going 7 of 15 for 150 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Nuzzo and Ambrose opened the scoring for Bradford on the game’s opening drive, as the duo hooked up for a 17-yard scoring play, though the extra point was no good.
It didn’t take long for the Gremlins (3-6) to answer however. Barely a minute in fact, as running back Hunter Jones — who finished with 115 yards on the ground — went 53 yards to the house. The extra point gave KC a 7-6 lead that it would take to the second quarter.
Pattison would then open the second quarter with a 23-yard scamper to give the Owls a 13-7 lead.
As the half drew to a close, Bradford came up with a big fumble recovery in its own territory on a drive where it looked like the Gremlins might score.
Unfortunately, the Owls were unable to convert the turnover into any points. Karns took advantage, marching down the field to end the half with a 13-yard scoring run by Josh Wimer and take a 14-13 halftime lead.
Bradford would make another costly mistake early in the third quarter when Ambrose muffed a punt deep in Bradford territory. The Gremlins wasted little time converting on this opportunity as Jones scored from three yards out to make it 21-13 Karns City.
Things began to look even more dire in the fourth quarter when a Nuzzo passed was tipped twice and eventually picked off by the Gremlins’ Erik Pfeifer, giving Karns City a chance to go up two scores.
But it was here where the Bradford defense took its play up a notch. The Owls came up with a very quick three and out, forcing the Gremlins to punt.
Down by eight with less than seven minutes to play, Bradford needed its playmakers to step up.
Boy, did they ever.
Pattison, following some typically great Bradford run blocking, rumbled to the end zone for a 67-yard score, and subsequently converted the two-point conversion to make things level at 21-21.
Even more impressive was the fact that Pattison had been visibly banged up on the previous drive. It’s that kind of toughness that Puglio says a team needs from its leaders.
“He gutted it out tonight,” Puglio said of his senior running back. “That stuff gets us fired up. We’ve got a guy who’s a little banged up but he’s fighting through it and that’s big for momentum, it’s big for morale, and that’s what we need to see out of our team leaders.”
It didn’t take long for the Bradford offense to get another shot, as the defense came up with another huge three and out.
This time, it was Ambrose’s turn to make a big play. The senior tailback took a short pass from Nuzzo, made a nice move, and outran the Karns City defense en route to a 66-yard touchdown to give Bradford the lead.
Coming not long after what might have been a devastating turnover, Puglio noted the kind of mentality it takes to move past a mistake and come through in the clutch.
“Jay’s got mental toughness,” he said. “It was just a mistake on a play and he didn’t let it impact the next play and that’s what you need to do: have a short memory and he did it and he had one hell of a fourth quarter.”
Once again, Karns City’s offense had a chance to put points on the board. And once again, the Bradford defense was up to the task. Only this time, the Owls figured a turnover would work better than a three and out, as Nuzzo intercepted KC quarterback Anthony Kamenski and returned the ball deep into Karns territory.
After some early lapses, Puglio’s defense came up big when it mattered most.
“We turned up the intensity and completely shut ‘em down,” he said. “I mean they weren’t going anywhere. The only way they were going was backwards. That’s the intensity we need to bring.”
Ambrose would find the endzone again on a seven-yard run to make it 34-21 Bradford.
Karns City would make it into Bradford territory on its final drive of the game, but they were unable to find any daylight against the Owls’ stifling defense.
Bradford would end the game out-gaining Karns City 422-228.
The Owls have one more regular season contest before the playoffs begin, as they will be at home next Friday against Oil City.
Even with a spot in the postseason in hand, Puglio knows how important it is to play well down the stretch. And a performance like he saw on Friday night — against a quality opponent on the road, in adverse weather conditions and with plenty of things not going their way — gives him every reason to believe that his squad will be ready come November.
“That’s what playoff teams need to do: they’ve got to find ways to win games on the road, in tough conditions, in tough environments, and that’s what this was tonight,” Puglio said. “Our backs were against the wall and we found a way to win and win convincingly.”
AT KARNS CITY
BY QUARTERS
Bradford 6 7 0 21—34
Karns City 7 7 7 0—21
TEAM STATISTICS
First Downs: Brad 13, Karns 11; Rushes/Yards Rushing: Brad: 39-272, Karns: 41-163; Yards Passing: Brad: 150, Karns 65; Comp-Att-Int: Brad: 7-15-1, Karns: 6-17-1; Penalties: Brad: 8-98, Karns: 2-32; Fumbles-Lost: Brad: 2-1, Karns: 5-1; Total Yards: Brad: 422, Karns: 228 Offensive Plays: Brad: 54, Karns: 58
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Passing: Brad: Caleb Nuzzo 7-15-150-2-1; Karns: Anthony Kamenski 6-17-65-0-1
Rushing: Brad: Donny Pattison 23-221-2, Derek Sunafrank 4-11, Jaron Ambrose 8-42-1, Caleb Nuzzo 1-(-13), Nik Erickson 3-11; Karns: Hunter Jones 15-115-2, Anthony Kamenski 18-13, Mitchell Kelsea 2-5, Trey Albert 1-25, Josh Wimer 2-10-1, Devin Ryan 3-(-5)
Receiving: Brad: Jaron Ambrose 5-133-2, Donny Pattison 1-2, Zach Woodel 1-15; Karns: Madden McMillen 1-20, Hunter Jones 2-25, Erik Pfeifer 1-7, Hunter Rowe 1-9, Josh Wimer 1-4
Scoring summary
First quarter
B: Ambrose 17-yard pass from Nuzzo (PAT no good), 7:24
K: Jones 53-yard run (PAT by Steve O’Donnell), 6:16
Second quarter
B: Pattison 23-yard run (PAT by Nuzzo), 10:48
K: Wimer 13-yard run (PAT by O’Donnell), 0:51
Third quarter
K: Jones 3-yard run (PAT by O’Donnell), 7:53
Fourth quarter
B: Pattison 67-yard run (2-pt conversion by Pattison), 6:40
B: Ambrose 66-yard pass from Nuzzo (PAT by Nuzzo), 5:02
B: Ambrose 3-yard run (PAT no good), 4:24
