Red Mountain 33
Brophy 31
By Michael Moroney ’13
THE ROUNDUP
A late fumble led to a Red Mountain touchdown with just more than 20 seconds remaining Friday, Sept, 7 at Phoenix College and gave the Mountain Lions a 33-31 victory over Brophy.
“I give credit to Red Mountain, they had a good game plan and they played well,” said head coach Mr. Scooter Molander. “They deserved to win.”
The Broncos rushed the ball efficiently against the Mountain Lion defense as Marche Dennard ’13 ran for 203 yards and two touchdowns and also caught a touchdown pass.
“I thought Marche ran hard all game,” said cornerback/running back D’Amani Grayer ’13. “He sparked our offense the whole game.”
However, a fumble by Dennard with less than three minutes remaining gave the ball back to Red Mountain at Brophy’s 20 yard line.
The Bronco defense held Red Mountain until the Mountain Lions scored on a fourth down and six passing touchdown after Brophy missed two tackles short of the goal line. This gave Red Mountain a two point advantage with 21 seconds left.
The Red Mountain and Brophy offenses went back and forth to start the game.
It took Brophy less than a minute to score in the first quarter after a 45-yard run by Dennard followed by a 20-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tyler Bruggman ’13. But Red Mountain came right back with a 46-yard touchdown pass to tie the game up at 7-7.
The Broncos then had a drive end in Bruggman’s first interception followed by a drive that ended in an 11-yard touchdown toss from Bruggman to Dennard with 2:05 left in the first quarter.
Red Mountain’s quarterback scored on a one-yard sneak to tie the game again but the Broncos regained the lead midway through the second quarter on a 21-yard Philip Mourikes ’14 field goal.
The Mountain Lions then mounted a seven minute, 80-yard drive to start the second half that ended with another sneak by their quarterback to make the game 20-17.
But the Broncos came right back with a 69-yard drive of their own that culminated in a Statue of Liberty touchdown run by Dennard.
“He ran the ball hard,” Mr. Molander said when asked about Dennard. “We were able to run it because they were giving us a defense in which we could.”
Red Mountain showed they had some tricks up their sleeve as well when they executed a halfback pass for a 35-yard touchdown pass and a 27-24 lead.
“Their offense was creative and it was tough to stop them the whole game,” Grayer said.
The Broncos stormed back on the ensuing drive, starting with a diving catch by Clarence Clark ’13. The offense advanced the ball to the one yard line and Dennard punched it passed the goal line for a 30-27 advantage.
Brophy had all the momentum after a Kaleb Mosier ’13 sack forced the Mountain Lions to punt on the next drive but it would be for naught after the Mountain Lions recovered the Dennard fumble and took advantage.
Bruggman’s third and final interception came on a last second desperation Hail Mary play intended for Devon Allen ’13.
The Mountain Lion secondary stifled quarterback Bruggman and the Brophy passing attack. Bruggman finished the game 9/25 with 135 yards and one touchdown.
Bruggman and leading receiver Allen connected on only one pass the entire game.
The loss drops the Broncos to 2-1 against Arizona opponents and 2-2 overall.
Notes:
- Scattered rainfall may have had a slight impact on the game as Bruggman fumbled two snaps from center Alex Rosner ’13. Bruggman’s three interceptions were more than he had all of last season.
- The Broncos were hampered by their 12 penalties that amounted to 81 yards. Most notably, three penalties in five plays that brought on a fourth and 29 late in the second quarter.
- Red Mountain was forced to punt multiple times but they strategically punted out of bounds each time to avoid returns by Allen who had two return touchdowns in 2011.
More photos from the game:
