STOPPED — Brooke’s Ty Sperringer, Triston Stevens and Brayden McFarland gang tackle John Marshall’s Cain Martin after a pass reception during Thursday night’s 33-6 rout by the Bruins. Garrett Moore pursues the play. – Kim North
WELLSBURG — The third aspect of a football team — one that is often overlooked — sparked Brooke (2-6) to its second win of the season Thursday night.
The Bruins’ special teams –namely placekicker Chase Hile — were a force to be reckoned with in a 33-6 rout of visiting John Marshall on Paul “Bud” Billiard Field inside chill-filled Brooke Memorial Stadium on Hall of Fame Night.
Hile, a 5-10, 135-pound senior, booted four field goals, three PATs and had a pair of touchbacks on kickoffs. Triston Stevens recovered a squib kick late in the first half that led to the second of Hile’s three-pointers — a 40-yarder as time expired that gave Brooke (2-6) a 13-6 halftime advantage.
He had knocked a 22-yarder through the uprights seconds before Stevens’ recovery at the Monarchs’ 23 with the clock showing 0:02.
“Coach (Goff) told me to hit it around the (John Marshall) 35 and we got another chance,” Hile said.
It was the second consecutive night that Hile stood out on the artificial surface. On Wednesday as a member of the Brooke boys’ soccer team, he scored five goals and assisted on a sixth.
“It’s been a pretty good couple of nights,” he said. “But it was about time.”
In the third quarter, Hile connected on field goals of 27 and 42 yards to extend the margin to 19-6. He said he has hit a 60-yarder on his own during practice.
“I’m pretty small, but my leg is explosive. I’ve got a lot of power coming through the ball,” said Hile, who boomed a 48-yarder in the Bruins’ first win of the season at Lincoln County.
The four field goals are believed to be a Brooke single-game program record.
“It was a good all-around football game,” Brooke first-year head coach Casey Goff said. “We know we’ve got a weapon in Chase. We showed up in all three facets of the game tonight. Our offense did what it had to do. We had a couple of big runs and we held onto the ball when we had to.
John Marshall (1-6) led 6-0 when Kayden Knapp hit Hayden Gaiser in stride for a 44-yard scoring play with 2:17 on the second-quarter clock. The two-point run failed. The touchdown came just two plays after Zane Cubick’s interception.
The lead was short-lived as Brooke’s Brayden McFarland returned the ensuing kickoff 58 yards down the John Marshall sidelines, breaking numerous tackles along the way. Three plays later, Ty Sperringer found Darion Hilton in the left flat and the 6-0, 180-pound tight end dove across the goal line to complete a 14-yard hookup. Hile’s first PAT provided to be the game-winner as the Bruins led 7-6.
John Marshall head coach Mark Cisar was frustrated that his team came up empty on its first two possessions, driving inside the Bruins’ 10-yard line on both occasions.
“The first two drives of the game we go right down the field but have absolutely nothing to show for it,” Cisar stressed. “We had all the momentum. Then, we hit the big one for the touchdown but we don’t tackle the guy on the kickoff return and give them a short field. Our special teams were really bad.”
Hilton picked off a Knapp pass in the final minute of the first half, returning it to midfield. On first down, Stevens took a flip from Tulenko on a reverse, weaving his way through defenders to the John Marshall 4 with 11 seconds on the clock. An incomplete pass preceded Hile’s first three-pointer.
Hilton came up with his third big play on the night when he recovered a John Marshall fumble early in the third quarter. However, the Bruins couldn’t capitalize.
After an exchange of punts, Hile’s third field goal bumped the count to 16-6. Following a McFarland interception, Hile came through once again as the margin increased to 19-6.
Stevens picked off a deflected pass at his own 34 and took it the distance with some nifty footwork as Brooke led 26-6.
The Bruins final TD drive had a pair of 51-yard runs. Sperringer ran for 51 from his own 4 before a 5-yard penalty moved the ball back to the bruins’ 49. On the next play, Dante Tulenko, who had missed several games with a shoulder injury, busted loose to go the distance around left end.
Tulenko finished with 99 yards on the ground as Brooke amassed 178 infantry yards. Sperringer and Stevens both finished with 46.
“I thought our defense played fairly well,” Cisar said. “We bent several times but we didn’t break and forced them to kick field goals. But our offense didn’t do anything to help the defense, which was on the field a lot.”
Brooke will hit the road to Sharon, Pa. next week, while John Marshall returns home to hoist Fairfield Union from the Lancaster, Ohio, area.
GAME NOTE
• During halftime festivities, Brooke added four members to its Athletic Hall of Fame, including John Brown (Class of 1987 posthumously); Joe DeMaria (Class of 1990); Matthew Cross (Class of 2000) and Jamie Kocher Hall (Class of 2006).
Brooke 33, John Marshall 6
J. Marshall 0 6 0 0 – 6
Brooke 0 13 6 14 – 33
JM-Gaiser 44 pass from Knapp (run failed)
B-Hilton 14 pass from Sperringer (Hile kick)
B-Hile 22 FG
B-Hile 40 FG
B-Hile 27 FG
B-Hile 42 FG
B-Stevens 66 INT return (Hile kick)
B-Tulenko 51 run (Hile kick)
RUSHING: John Marshall 31-98 (Lemasters 23-101, Swauger 1-11, Cooper 1-4, Bungard 1-3, Holland 1-1, Harrison 1-1, team 1-(-8), Knapp 2-(15). Brooke 31-178-td (Tulenko 22-91-td, Stevens 1-46, Sperringer 6-46, team 2-(-13).
PASSING: John Marshall 13-29-188-td-3ints (all by Knapp). Brooke 5-12-60-td-int (all by Sperringer)
RECEIVING: John Marshall 13-188-td (Lemasters 5-44, Gaiser 2-58-td, Bungard 2029, Martin 2-23, Wells 2-18, Snyder 1-8). Brooke 5-60-td (Yost 2-30, Hilton 2-25-td, Tulenko 1-5)
FIRST DOWNS: John Marshall 14. Brooke 9
FUMBLES: John Marshall 2-1. Brooke 2-0
PENALTIES: John Marshall 8-50. Brooke 5-45
