Brophy 30
Deer Valley 13

By Ian C. Beck
THE ROUNDUP

In an interview with The Roundup before the start of the 2010 football season, Brophy offensive coordinator Mr. Bill Kalkman said the team would be relying more on its passing game heading into a new year.

That offense was on full display Friday, Aug. 27 as Brophy unleashed its passing attack en route to a 30-13 victory over Deer Valley.

In years past Brophy has been a run-heavy team. In this game, Kevin Molloy ’11, the team’s starting running back, carried the ball just five times while three different Brophy receivers had 85 or more receiving yards.

Tyler Bruggman ’13 made his debut as the Bronco quarterback and threw for 317 yards and three touchdowns.

Last year’s starter Chase Knox ’12 told the Arizona Republic he was leaving Brophy several days before the season started. Knox did not respond to Roundup attempts to confirm he was planning to leave.

Brophy Principal Mr. Bob Ryan said that he could not comment on the status of a student’s enrollment in the school.

“Regarding conversations that have happened with individual students here, no matter the content of those conversations, they always remain between the school and the boy and his family,” Mr. Ryan said.

He did say that when Brophy accepts students, it does so with the intent to develop them as a whole person, but that sometimes it just isn’t a great fit between student and school.

“Students we admit here we admit because we believe this will be a place where they can develop holistically in all aspects of their life … It’s not always a great fit,” Mr. Ryan said.

Bruggman, who led Brophy’s freshman team to a 9-0 season last year, said in an e-mail Thursday he had been sharing snaps during preseason workouts and felt prepared to help lead the team.

Bruggman threw the ball 41 times, completing 19 passes including three touchdowns.

He was intercepted twice but came alive in a decisive third quarter in which the Broncos scored 24 points after the game was tied at 0-0 heading into the second half.

After the game Bruggman said while he had to adjust to the speed and intensity of a regular season game, his teammates were great and the team’s offensive line had a great game as well.

Head coach Mr. Scooter Molander said Bruggman was “a very smart young man” and that he had good command and good presence in his first varsity game.

In addition to Bruggman, several other new players performed well in the season’s first game including receiver Devon Allen ’13, who had 89 yards on five catches, and Frederick Gammage ’12.

Gammage had six catches for 99 yards and two touchdowns, each coming within a 43 second period in the third quarter.

“He’ll break some ankles on some kids, he’s got great moves,” Mr. Molander said of Gammage.

But while the offense was debuting its new style, the Brophy defense was staying true to its old form.

The defense held Deer Valley scoreless until there was 3:29 remaining in the game, forcing three turnovers along the way.

Matthew Cahal ’11 and Andrew Curtis ’11 both had interceptions.

Defensive lineman Danny Riggs ’11 had two sacks in the game and afterwards said that the team has a tough mindset no matter what and that the only thing that changes week to week is their strategy.