Almost perfect
Sunday, December 6, 2009
By ASHLEY NEWMAN- The Herald Star
The 2009 season for the Brooke football team will be remembed as one of great triumph.
After all, to start the season, few if any prognosticators envisioned the Bruins still playing football in early December, marking the school's first West Virginia Class AAA state title appearance since 1992.
However, Brooke's dream of hoisting the championship trophy finally came to an end Saturday at Wheeling Island Stadium, as South Charleston used big plays and stifling defense to secure a 28-7 win.
"I told the guys that they have to remember, we just had a 13-win season," Brooke head coach Tom Bruney said. "When we started the season, no one even expected us to be playing here today. So, we have to be proud of the season that we put together."
Brooke - which made it a habit of making big plays all season - began the game on the short end of a titanic momentum swing. On the Bruins' first possession, Brooke quarterback Cotey Wallace dropped back to pass on a third-and-4 and spotted a receiver coming open on the outside of the left hashmark.
South Charleston defensive back Pierria Henry sensed Wallace's intended target and stepped in front of the throw. Henry snagged the ball out of the air at the Brooke 44 and raced down the sideline untouched for the game's first score, with the game less than two minutes old.
The extra point was no good, but South Charleston had the 6-0 advantage.
After picking up one first down on its ensuing possession, the Bruins were forced to punt from the opponents' 42.
Taking the ball on its own 20, it took just two plays for the Black Eagles to find paydirt again. Once again, it was Henry with the big play. Taking a screen pass from quarterback Tyler Harris, Henry spun out of several tackles before eventually breaking into the open field for what would become an 86-yard scoring play.
"I thought that the biggest factor was the fact that they had been here before and we hadn't," Bruney said of South Charleston's second consecutive state title win. "I could really see it in our kids' eyes and in their demeanor. We were walking on eggs in the first quarter.
"Once we got ourselves in the hole, the more and more that we fought to get out of it, the more mistakes that we made."
Brooke finally got on the board late in the first quarter. Facing a third-and-5 from its own 13, South Charleston ran a quarterback draw, but Harris was hit from behind by Mike Koscevic and the ball fell free to the turf. The Bruins' nose tackle Kyle Wales jumped on the football and Brooke had possession at the opponents' 25.
Five plays later, Brooke running back Ryan Lazear broke free up the middle and charged over the goal line. The Rusty Kocher extra point cut the South Charleston advantage to 14-7 with 11:57 to play in the second quarter.
But, it didn't take long before South Charleston was in the end zone once again. After taking possession at their own 43, the Black Eagles took just six downs to tack on another score. On a third-and-9 from the Brooke 45, Harris found Henry behind the Bruins defense and the all-everything receiver did the rest.
Henry's third touchdown of the game and the ensuing extra point gave the Black Eagles a 21-7 advantage with 9:16 to play in the first half.
"We expected to give up a couple of those," Bruney said. "But, we thought that we would move the ball more efficiently. I think it was the first time this year that we lost our poise a little bit and we lost it early. By the time we were able to regain our composure, it was pretty much a done deal."
Once again, Brooke did its best to answer. This time, the Bruins took the ball at their own 35 and went on a 15-play drive to get the ball inside the South Charleston red zone. But, with a fourth-and-goal from the opponents' 12, Wallace was tackled for a minimal gain and the long Brooke drive had stalled.
Brooke's running game was stifled for most of the afternoon and Bruney was left searching for answers.
"We just tried to take what they were giving us," Bruney said. "It just seemed like everytime that we would get a good play going, something else would come back the next play and hurt us. I don't think that we ever set our tempo today and clicked the way that we normally do."
Heading into the half down 21-7, Bruney noted that his team was calm in its approach to the second 24 minutes.
"There was no panic at all," he said. "We made our halftime adjustments. When we came out in the second half, we tried those things and they were there. We just couldn't make the play today."
The second half featured a more dominant South Charleston defense, as the Brooke offense struggled to gain its footing. After getting inside the Black Eagles' red zone twice in the opening two frames, Brooke was unable to penetrate deeply into the South Charleston side of the field in the second half.
"We tried to get the ball to everybody that we could," Bruney explained. "They just had us covered. They play a good man coverage. We had a hard time shaking any of our receivers loose and we couldn't get to that middle backer all day."
South Charleston would add one more score before the final whistle on a 47-yard scamper by Harris.
While the outcome may not have been what a raucous Brooke faithful had in mind, many Bruin supporters stuck around for the trophy ceremony, cheering Bruney and his team as they exited the field for the final time this season.
"I hope (the fans) are not disappointed in us for dropping this game," Bruney said.
"It was obvious that the kids hadn't experienced (a loss) all year, so they took it pretty hard. But, the one thing that we know is that the sun is going to come up tomorrow and we'll get ready for 2010."
