Brophy 56
North Canyon 7
By George Liddy ’14
THE ROUNDUP
After a slow start that had the North Canyon Rattlers leading Brophy 7-0 early in the first quarter Sept. 21, Brophy took control the game and would not look back.
That first-drive touchdown would be the only points for the Rattlers as Brophy’s defense was able to hold them off the rest of the game.
“The team is starting to get its legs under them,” said head coach Mr. Scooter Molander.
North Canyon used an onside kick to start the game and get the ball in good field position. They were then able to drive down the field with help from a 35-yard flea flicker pass that got them to the Broncos’ four-yard line.
The score came on a one-yard rush giving them the lead only three minutes into the game.
However, the Broncos responded with a quick touchdown of their own. They were given good field position when North Canyon failed to recover their second onside kick.
Brophy marched down the field to score on a 9-yard pass from Tyler Bruggman ‘13 to Devon Allen ’13. The drive took only two and a half minutes.
After forcing the Rattlers to punt, Brophy got the ball back on their own seven-yard line. Capped by a 63-yard touchdown run by Marche Dennard ’13, the Broncos drove 93 yards to take their first lead of the game at 14-7.
North Canyon could not do anything on their next offensive drive and were forced to punt deep in their own territory. Allen picked up the punt and took it 46 yards to give the Broncos strong field position at the Rattlers 5-yard line. Brophy capitalized with a one-yard touchdown run by Dennard.
After another North Canyon punt, Brophy started with the ball on their own 38-yard line. They moved into scoring position with a 40-yard run by Allen. The Broncos then scored on a six-yard pass from Bruggman to Clark Attaway ’13. The score was then 28-7.
With 43 seconds left in the first half, Bruggman threw the ball 53 yards to senior receiver Clarence Clark ’13 for a touchdown. After the extra point by Phil Mourikes ’14, Brophy lead 35-7.
North Canyon got a last second chance to score after recovering a fumble by Dennard. However, they were unsuccessful in their field goal attempt, so the score remained 35-7 at the half.
The Rattlers started the second half with the most time consuming drive of the game. It took nearly nine minutes to run 17 plays. However, Brophy’s defense was able to hold them off on fourth down and goal to give the Broncos the ball at their own four-yard line.
Brophy’s offense took advantage of the defensive stop. They took the ball 96 yards down the field led by running back Dennard, who carried the ball 61 yards on the drive. That concluded with a one-yard touchdown run that gave the Broncos a 42-7 lead.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Brian Woodward ’14 intercepted a North Canyon pass and returned it 25 yards for a score. The Broncos then led 49-7.
After that touchdown, Brophy pulled many of its first string players. They still stopped North Canyon on defense and scored on offense.
Brophy got the ball on their own 49-yard line to start their final drive.
Will Edwards ’14 ran for 49 yards, including a 35-yard run. However, he had the help of some key blocks from backup linemen such as Pierson Foi ’14.
Greg Wirth ’13 then punched the ball in for a one-yard touchdown run to make the score 56-7, which would be the final score.
“The team is definitely getting in a rhythm, and we are ready to play Mountain Pointe next week,” Dennard said about the big game against top ranked Mountain Pointe Sept. 28.
Notes:
- Dennard ran for 176 yards for the second straight week. He also ran for four touchdowns.
- Kicker Mourikes made all of his extra point attempts.
- The defense had two key stops on fourth down.
- Bruggman threw for 158 yards and two touchdowns. He also did not throw an interception.
- Matt Auran ’13 had 19 rushing yards and eight receiving yards.
- This was Brophy’s first home victory of the year. They are now ranked fourth in the state behind Mountain Pointe, Red Mountain and Desert Vista
