Football Tops Taft

Brunswick added to its 14-0 halftime lead over Taft in the third quarter, building a 27-7 advantage en route to a 34-21 win against the Rhinos in an Erickson League matchup in Watertown on Saturday. The win gives the Bruins an overall mark of 3-1 and 3-0 in conference action, while Taft falls to 2-2 overall and in league play.

 

The two teams combined for nearly 850 total yards, including 690 passing yards on the day. Brunswick quarterback Nick Henkel finished with 326 yards passing (22/34) and four TD passes, as his leading receivers were Jack Montinaro (5 rec., 125 yards, 1 TD) and Cornelius Johnson (7 rec., 86 yards, 1 TD).

 

Following a scoreless first quarter, the Bruins scored a pair of touchdowns in the second frame, while the Brunswick defense added a key red zone stop of the Rhinos in the final seconds of the opening half.

 

On the two Brunswick scoring drives, Henkel connected with Sean Amill (4 rec., 50 yards, 2 TD) for each score. The first TD connection was from 10 yards out, as the duo later connected from 18 yards away. Following two extra-point kicks by Chris Chavez, the Bruins built their 14-0 advantage.

 

Brunswick opened the third quarter with a touchdown drive capped by a 27-yard TD catch by Montinaro. Despite the blocked extra-point, the Bruins' lead grew to 20-0.

 

Taft scored a touchdown later in the third, halting a seven-quarter defensive scoreless streak by Brunswick.

 

Leading 20-7, Brunswick ended the third quarter with a three-yard touchdown plunge by Jack Ocken, giving the visitors a 27-7 lead.

 

The talented Taft passing attack awoke on the ensuing drive to counter the Ocken score. The 12-play, 90-yard drive began in the final minutes of the third quarter. Using passing plays of 33 and 29 yards, the Rhinos were on the Brunswick doorstep to start the fourth quarter. A four-yard touchdown run by Taft knifed the deficit to 27-14 with plenty of time to play.

 

Taft failed to execute an onside kick, and the Bruins took over on the Taft 41-yard line. Nine plays later, Henkel connected with Johnson for a TD in the back of the end zone on a fourth-and-goal play from the four-yard line. The touchdown grab and extra-point gave Brunswick a 34-14 lead with 5:35 left to play in the game. During the final scoring drive for the Bruins, the visitors overcame a pair of 10-yard penalties.

 

Taft didn’t take long to answer, charging 71 yards down the field on two passing plays, including a 43-yard scoring strike. Following the extra-point, the Rhinos trailed 34-21.

 

Taft kicked off to the Bruins, as Brunswick started on its own 22-yard line. After the Bruins collected a pair of first downs, the Brunswick drive stalled on the its own 46-yard line. During the drive, Taft exhausted all its time outs, and Brunswick punted the ball to the Taft 30-yard line.

 

The Rhinos moved the ball into Brunswick territory, but the hosts turned the ball over on downs at the Brunswick 37 with under one minute to play. The Bruins’ offense ran out the clock by taking a knee on two plays to secure the 34-21 victory.

 

Brunswick’s Nick Villis and Chris Burdick paced the defense with 10 tackles apiece, as Villis added a pair of fumble recoveries. The Brunswick rushing attack was paced by Michael Gottlieb (8 carries, 44 yards) and Ocken (11 carries, 43 yards, 1 TD).

 

For game stats: click here.