Friday night was playoff night for the BHHS varsity boys football team. Since the Bruins left Thursday afternoon on what would be at least a five-hour bus ride, Friday was a whole day of waiting. I’m sure 7:00 pm couldn’t come fast enough.
Through the OSAA playoff placement program, the Bruins were matched up with the OSAA #2, 3-1 Amity Warriors who have scored no less than 40 points in any of their 10 games this past season. In the only game with a shared opponent, both teams played St. Mary’s of Medford this past season, Amity defeated St. Mary’s 51-7. The Bruins suffered their first league loss to St. Mary’s in early October 7-49.
Going into Friday nights game, the Bruins had quite a task looming before them. However, when the whistle blew and Amity kicked to the Bruins, it was still 11 players against 11 players and the first 4 possessions of the game reflected exactly that.
Both teams went four and out in their first two possessions. After the Bruins punted to Amity, Amity began to exploit their size at the line and started opening big holes for their running game. Amity rambled downfield over 40 yards before capping off the drive with a pass to the tight-end, putting the Warriors on the board first.
Clearly, the Bruins were trying to control their adrenaline as they overplayed situations, but nowhere was it more obvious than at quarterback. Bruin sophomore quarterback Andrew Burger was under constant attack from a jailbreak blitzing Warrior defense, and when he did have a moment to find a receiver, he released the ball early causing the ball to sail high. It wouldn’t be until the 2nd quarter that Burger would manage to get some time with sweeps to hit some short passes and begin to get some sort of confidence.
But Amity was already in high gear and would score three more times before halftime and take a 0-24 lead into the break.
The Bruins kicked to the Warriors to begin the second half. Amity wasted no time, picking up right where they left off. The Warriors, featuring offensive and defensive linemen weighing between 230 and 295 pounds, again pushed open big holes for their running game that moved the ball 60 yards in 4 plays, punching into the endzone and increasing the Warrior lead to 0-32.
The Warrior defense in the second half focused again on the Bruin running game. They were not going to allow anything through the middle and forced everything to the edges throughout the game. The defensive line did not allow Burger a moment to look downfield and it was even more difficult when the Warriors blitzed. When the blitz was called, Amity was in the Bruin backfield at the hand-off and in Burgers face before he could look up. Amity would run the score up to 0-46 before the Bruins could get on the board in the 4th period.
The Bruins put together 3 quality drives in the contest, once early in the first period, but they would they would not be able to convert on a 4th and short and turn the ball over on downs. Just before the half, Burger and the Bruin offense would string together plays, positive yards, and drive only to run out of time before the end of the half. It was clear the Bruin offense could function against the tough Amity defense, but they just couldn’t close the deal.
In the fourth quarter, the Bruin offense put together some effective offense, with some running back Brig Schofield power runs, Kelvon’te Dawsey outside speed, and a 36 yard pass and run play from Burger to Derek Bonde that put the Bruins on the Warrior 3 yard line. The Bruins would get the ball in the endzone making the final score 6-46.
Congratulations to the Bruins for a surprising, fulfilling and exciting season of Bruin football. We thank you for your dedication and hard work, and look forward to the 2019 season.