Brooke earns a comeback for her third win | News, Sports, Jobs

Photo of Cody Tomer Brooke, Braelyn Sperringer looks like he’s struggling in Friday’s win over Marietta.

WELLSBURG – After a two-week hiatus and after their first loss of the season, Brooke’s football team showed a lot of rust in the first quarter of Friday night’s clash with Marietta visiting.

But after registering in a 14-point first hole, the Bruins got their act together and coach Mac McLean’s side accomplished something they haven’t done since 2015, winning their third game of football. of the season the first week of October.

Sophomore Jace Campinelli rushed for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the second half and Brooke’s defense recorded an interception and safety in the final 3:43 of play to seal the deal as the Bruins escaped with a comeback, 30-21, victory over the Tigers at Brooke Memorial Stadium on the Paul “Bud” pool field.

With the win, Brooke goes 3-1 on the campaign with Oak Glen due to visit next Friday night.

“It’s still early days, but sitting here with three wins right now is a nice place,” a smiling McLean admitted afterward. “I know Saturday mornings have been a lot nicer this season.”

Tied at 14 at the break, the Bruins kicked off the second half, and with Campinelli getting the bulk of the work, they methodically moved 75 yards in 11 games while taking 4:43 on the clock. . Campinelli’s 16 yards burst into the middle of the run and the hosts had their first lead of the night at 21-14.

It took only 1:39 for Marietta (3-4) to respond, quarterback Tyler Gerber bypassing the right end at 10 yards with 3:04 showing once again to tie the tally.

But the hosts were not to be outdone, starting another great practice, this one extending two games in the fourth quarter with Campinelli once again finishing things two yards away with 11:27 to go. The drive covered 80 yards on nine plays and pushed the score to 28-21.

McLean’s side amassed 156 yards in the third quarter alone, 231 in the second half and 281 for the game.

Marietta passed Brooke 20 halfway through the fourth before returning the ball to the downs. The Tigers had the ball again at 18 with 3:43 left before an interception by Luke Sechrist put an end to it and had one last chance, again from the 18th, before Gerber was invaded. by a group of Bruins in the end zone on a third down with 2:02 to go to wrap it up.

“We certainly weren’t looking to go out and put ourselves in a 14-0 hole right off the bat,” McLean said. “Honestly, we gave them a really good chance to beat us from the start. But although they are a young team, we found our marks and they really reacted like a bunch of veterans.

“Marietta played a great game, but we just got a little more at the end. Jace (Campinelli) handled the ball really well (Friday) and (quarterback) Braelyn (Sperringer) got us out of a few tough spots with runs. We’ve been on the other side of that, but it’s good to have a quarterback who can bail us out.

“It took a little while for the defense to start but when they did they started playing like we did in the first two weeks of this season. We have to improve and we have to go out and play for four quarters. “

It didn’t take long for the visitors to rock the scoreboard, thanks to a little trickery and a really big play. In his very first second-year scrum game, Bryce Dotson took a transfer from Gerber, s ‘was stopped and made a long pass to a wide open Kayden Durham who completed a 74-yard catch-and-run. Dillon Meagle’s point after just 18 seconds into the game made it 7-0.

The Tigers made it a two-goal game at the four-minute mark after a low shot from a punt that saw Marietta play Brooke 18. The visitors needed five games with senior Zachary Bartlett taking came in by one meter for a 14-0. reading.

However, this time around, the Bruins responded quickly with a 52-yard kickoff return from junior Camden Taylor putting the ball on enemy 32. A nine-yard Campinelli run followed by a 20-yard strike from Sperringer at Garrett Hornick had Brooke in the five. Just two games later, Sperringer found the end zone on a goalie on the right with Bailey Serevicz’s PAT cutting the deficit in half to 14-7.

McLean’s team tied the tally at 4:50 of the first half with a nice 44-yard walk that started with an interception from Gus Gilbert. The Bruins evened things up with an eight-yard pass from Sperringer to Gilbert on a third-and-goal eight call.

Marietta missed two golden chances with a false punt putting the ball into Brooke’s territory before a fumble stopped that drive at the end of the first quarter. Meagle then bounced a 24-yard field goal attempt off the upright with 31 seconds left in the half to send the teams to the locker room at 14-14.

The Tigers, thanks in large part to their great opening play, had a 195-100 yard edge at the break. The Bruins, however, finished with the upper hand, edging their guests by a margin of 363-266.