By Erik T. Masingill ’12
THE ROUNDUP
First Down: Broncos complete season sweep of Mountain Pointe
With a 28-3 victory over the Mountain Pointe Nov. 4 at Phoenix College, the Broncos completed the two-game sweep over the Pride.
The Broncos defeated the Pride 31-14 in their sixth game of the regular season on Sept. 30.
The only other two teams the Broncos could play against twice this year are Red Mountain (in the state championship) and Pinnacle (in the semifinals).
The Broncos defeated Red Mountain 31-13 Sept. 9 and Pinnacle 52-7 Oct. 28. Both wins came on the road for Brophy.
Second Down: Broncos advance to second round of playoffs for fifth consecutive year
A first-round victory over the Pride also meant the fifth straight season for the Broncos in which they have reached the quarterfinals of the playoffs.
However, the last two playoff appearances for the Broncos have ended in losses in the quarterfinal game.
Last year the Broncos lost to the Pride 13-12 Nov. 19. The year before, Brophy lost to Mesa 13-3 Nov. 20.
The No. 7 seed Basha Bears are the Broncos’ quarterfinal opponent.
Third Down: Offense fails to score 30 for only second time
The Broncos’ 28 points came just two points away from the team’s regular benchmark of 30 six times this season.
The only other game where the offense did not score 30 points was a 24-21 win over Westview Oct. 6.
The offense scored 30 points or more in a game for the first six games of the year. After the Westview game, the offense went three straight games with 30 points or more before scoring 28 against Mountain Pointe.
With Basha’s defense having surrendered a total of 285 points in 11 games (an average of 26 points allowed per game), the Brophy offense looks to get back to scoring 30 points again for the tenth time in 12 games.
Fourth Down: Defense surrenders single-digit score for sixth time
Even though the offense did not provide its usual 30 points, the defense continued to allow few points to the Pride.
Brophy has six games in which the defense has allowed single-digit scores to opponents. Aside from its three shutout wins against Mountain Ridge, Sandra Day O’ Connor and St. Mary’s, the Broncos allowed less than 10 points to North Canyon, Pinnacle and now Mountain Pointe.
In the past two games for Brophy, the defense has surrendered a combined total of 10 points while the offense has scored 88 during that span.
Throughout 11 games, the defense has surrendered a total 113 points (an average of 10 allowed per game).
Unlike the defense for Basha, the Bears’ offense has been successful scoring a total of 524 points in 11 games (an average of about 48 per game).
The Brophy defense and Basha offense will provide a tough matchup for each other.
