Bearcats Claw Their Way To Victory
Photo By John
Ray
by Mike Wachsman
Posted 08-29-09
The much-anticipated City League showdown between North Division
champion Brookhaven and South Division king Marion-Franklin had everything a
fan could have wanted – atmosphere, pageantry, hard-hitting, mistakes and
touchdowns.
It also had one thing no one wanted – weather that was bad enough to stop
the contest.
With the score tied at 7 and 9:52 remaining in the second quarter, the
teams were forced off the field by a band of lightning storms and rain that
came into the central Ohio area. OHSAA rules mandate a 30-minute delay from
the last lightning streak, and few would have thought it beneficial to take
the field at 10 pm.
When the two teams resumed play Saturday morning, it was the Bearcats who
came out on top -- barely.
Thanks to a late missed 50-yard field goal by Marion-Franklin, the
visiting Bearcats left with a 23-21 victory.
After a 31-yard field goal by Brookhaven's Prince Gboya made it 23-14 with
just under four minutes left to play, the Red Devils responded the way
champions do -- with a big play.
Verlon Reid connected with Paul Harris on a 75-yard touchdown strike, the
first play from scrimmage following Brookhaven's field goal.
The Red Devils saved their best defensive stand for last, forcing
Brookhaven into a fourth-and-32 from its own 29. They took the ball at their
own 38 with 2:41 remaining and drove to the Brookhaven 27, where on third
down Reid was sacked for a loss of six yards and was forced to spike the
ball on the next play to stop the clock. -- and began what became an
unsuccessful scoring drive at their own 38 with 2:41 left.
Joe Little's long field goal try with eight seconds left was well short,
and the Bearcats were able to exhale.
"We're fortunate that the breaks fell our way today," Bearcats coach
Anthony Thornton said. "We made some mistakes, and I'm not going to lie --
my heart was feeling it at the end of the game."
Reid was just 7-of-20 passing for 126 yards with one touchdown and two
interceptions, but managed to do some damage with his legs, rushing 11 times
for 89 yards, including a 61-yard TD scamper.
In his first start, Brookhaven sophomore quarterback Tajuan Green completed
nine of 21 passes for 130 yards with one touchdown and one interception and
rushed two times for 15 yards.
"We pretty much told the kids all week that the team that made the fewest
mistakes was going to win," Red Devils coach Brian Haffele said. "To have a
chance after playing that bad, I guess you have to take it. We'll learn from
it. Give (Brookhaven) credit. They earned the victory."
Reid's scoring run tied the game at 14 less than a minute into the final
quarter, but Brookhaven answered when Jonzelle Meek returned the ensuing
kickoff 93 yards for a score. Gboya missed the extra point.
There wasn’t a lot of offense in the first half – neither team had over 80
yards – but there were some opportune plays.
Brookhaven got on the board first when it returned a Reid interception 16
yards for a touchdown with 1:44 left in the first quarter. The Red Devils
answered with a score of their own when tailback Amir Robinson ran up the
middle, juked a defender and spun out of a tackle for an 11-yard score with
10:14 left before halftime.
The game was the first between the City League powers since 2002, and it
was noticeable in the number of fans -- many inventing a makeshift parking
lot on a grass field across from the school.