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Bruins Suffer Heartbreaker to Big Red
Photo Credit: Ali Crawford
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Written by Joshua Yost, Sports Editor
With a packed house, full of devoted fans and former players, witnessed a crushing finale to the two-year deal for Steubenville Big Red to play against the Brooke Bruins. At a score of 40-6, Steubenville effectively proved themselves to be the better team on that given Friday now being 6-0 against the Bruins all-time. The Bruins walked off after the handshake with a 1-3 record, heads held low, unable to bear facing their families and friends.
The team was ineffective as a whole, with the offensive line unable to get a good push, the Bruins were forced to the air. After only throwing the ball six out of 59 times against University, starting quarterback Alec Buchmelter threw 11 passes, completing only three of them for thirty yards. Each completion was a screen pass to either Gianni Fuscardo or Mason Bates. They had trouble executing on slant patterns, as Buchmelter would wait one extra second and his pass would be deflected by either of the big-bodied Big Red defensive ends.
With the offensive line unable to get a real push against the defensive line, star running back Timmy Faulkner wasn’t able to capitalize on any openings and use his incredible burst of speed to break away into the secondary. He had a few runs for first downs, but his only major run was his touchdown trot down the right side for 30 yards. His big break and aggressive mentality gave the Bruins their only true hope for a comeback, wanting to rally back in the second half. However, it proved ineffective and the Bruins found no counter to the four-man front of their tough foes.
Faulkner did end the game with a consistently strong yards per carry average, having 18 carries go for 78 yards. However, no other Bruin player was able to run with the energy, speed, and power that Faulkner could with Buchmelter only carrying the ball nine times, and gaining twelve yards. He worked for every single yard, and early in the game ran as hard as he could, lunged forward, and was hit directly to the head by the helmet of a Big Red defender. He was helped off the field by trainer Brian Davis, and seemed to have lost his bearings and had some concussion symptoms. However, on the very next play after the punt, he was out again playing at free safety in an attempt to salvage a troublesome game.
On defense, it was no better. Big Red’s first three touchdowns came off plays of 30 yards or more. With the first touchdown coming off their first offensive play of the game, a pass left side where junior receiver Matt Petrella gained a step on Bates, jumped over him, and the perfect placement dropped straight into his arms. With a simple landing in the endzone and an extra point, Big Red went up 7-0 in only one play. In the next two drives, Big Red got another 30 yard completion, where the defense seemed to forget about the player running down the left side, and with over ten yards of space it was an easy catch and walk into the endzone. Following that was a massive 41 yard run from senior Jo Jo Pierro, who ended the game with 141 yards on just 16 carries and three touchdowns.
The defensive line had no easy way out, they used arm tackles to try to slow the runner, but never were able to wrap them up and take them down. The star of the game seemed to be LeShawn Luke, who only had ten carries, but ended with 94 yards. He blasted through the defenders, and worked for every extra yard he could take, never settling for one tackler taking him down. They also had trouble in pass-rushing, as Big Red’s offensive line easily handled the defenders rushing them, and star quarterback Marcus Prater completed multiple passes by rolling left. He ended the game completing ten of his 22 pass attempts for 189 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw an interception on an out route, where senior Cedric McAllister jumped the route and picked it off. On the ensuing drive was the only touchdown for the Bruins that evening.
Leaving the night with a 1-3 record, the Bruins are forced into a hole in order to play in the playoffs come November. Last season, the final team to make the playoffs was Logan, and they were 6-4 entering the playoffs against a top seeded team. The Bruins are looking to win the rest of their games, which may prove difficult when nationally ranked Dayton Dunbar visits in two weeks. For now, the Bruins look to their away game where they travel to Wheeling Island stadium and take on the Wheeling Park Patriots.
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September 21st, 2011 at 9:30 am
I am also a star running back and i hate it when on occasion my o line does not get a push and i get crushed in the back field. one year i almost shattered my leg because of a bad play by the o line
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