By Ian C. Beck ’12
THE ROUNDUP
“Three and Out” is a weekly recap of the top Brophy football story lines
First Down: Defense shuts down opposing offense
On Friday Aug. 26, opening their 2011 season against Mountain Ridge, the Broncos locked down the Mountain Lions from the first drive to the very last in a 32-0 shutout.
Mountain Ridge mustered up only one trip to the red zone, one that originated when a punt bounced off a Brophy blocker and was recovered by the Mountain Lions on the 18 yard line. They would drive to the one yard line but a costly five yard penalty on fourth down and goal forced them to settle for a 29-yard field goal attempt that sailed wide.
The longest play from scrimmage the Mountain Lions had was a 14-yard pass in the third quarter.
Brophy forced four turnovers, coming away with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries. They also goaded their opponents into three false start penalties and were rewarded when Mountain Ridge’s first snap of the second half sailed out of the end zone for a safety.
Brophy’s defense held their opponent to just three drives of 10 plays or longer in the entire game. Mountain Ridge’s longest drive was 11 plays and ended in an interception.
“Our defense was Bronco defense tonight,” said head coach Mr. Scooter Molander after the game. “At times we bended, never broke, always rallied to the football and created some turnovers.”
Second Down: Auran emerges as legitimate receiving threat
In the first game of the 2011 season, Matt Auran ’13 found himself as a choice target for quarterback Tyler Bruggman ’13.
Auran, who also kicked and punted for Brophy during the game, led the team with seven catches, two more than senior Freddy Gammage ’12.
The 5’10”, 170 pound receiver racked up 76 receiving yards and hauled in a long 44-yard touchdown.
After the game, Mr. Molander praised Auran’s football smarts.
“He knows just about every position on offense, not that we would want a guy of his size to play a position other than wide receiver,” Mr. Molander said. “But, he’s a super smart player and that translates into the game.”
Third Down: Bruggman has success in return to field
In his first regular season game since a broken ankle sidelined him last October, Bruggman completed 15 of 25 passes for 235 yards and three touchdowns.
Onlookers might have expected the junior to look a little rusty early on after such a long time off but that was far from the case as he completed his first four passes and five of his first six, including a 29-yard touchdown pass to Devon Allen ’13.
Only three times throughout the game did Bruggman throw consecutive incomplete passes and he never threw more than two incompletions in a row.
He also picked up a key chunk of yardage with his legs in the closing minute of the first half, running for 20 yards to put the Broncos on the Mountain Ridge seven yard line with just over 20 seconds to go before halftime.
Brophy would score three plays later on a four-yard touchdown pass from Bruggman to Gammage.
Fourth Down: Broncos battle the heat
According to Weather.com, the temperature in Phoenix on Friday was an estimated 115 degrees, and the heat would prove to be as much of an opponent as the Mountain Lions.
Players could be seen limping with cramps and sweating profusely on the sideline as the high temperatures took their toll.
“We don’t say this but certainly, it was hot and there’s no way to replicate pain,” Mr. Molander said in a post-game interview. “We had some guys cramp up but we battled through it, guys stuck it out. We conditioned the guys hard and that helped us tonight.”
Arizona has been mired in a month long heat wave that shows no signs of stopping. Weather.com predicts the temperature for next Friday night’s game against Boulder Creek to be around 107 degrees.
