On a cool misty Friday night, a fired up Brookings-Harbor High School varsity football team took to their home field determined to embark on a different path than seasons past. Coach Bavaro’s “Win Now” has permeated the air and has the fans in the stands, the band, the cheer team, the snack bar and anybody else in the area dealing with an anticipation that hasn’t been felt under the Friday night lights in quite some time.
The Lakeview Honkers received the opening kick-off and immediately put a damper on the Bruins excitement. The Honker quarterback dropped back and hit a 15 yard pass over the middle that the receiver managed to turn a couple of missed tackles into 7 points. With in a few minutes, the Bruins, the coaches and stands were looking at a giant 0-7 lit up in red on the new scoreboard and the ghost of seasons past reared it’s ugly head.
But the determination of the Bruins would not be deterred, as the game settled into a defensive battle between the 30-yard lines. With 2:34 left in the first quarter, sophomore Derek Bonde #42 dropped back in coverage and intercepted a Honker pass. The Bruin offense took the field and managed an offensive drive that ate up the final 2:00 minutes of the 1st quarter and resulted in a 30-yard touchdown pass to the corner of the endzone to Manny Zamora that resulted in a 7-7 tie at the end of the 1st.
Both teams defensively held their own through the second period and both teams went to the locker rooms sitting on a 7-7 tie.
The 3rd period started off with a Honker on-side kick, recovered by Lakeview immediately turning the momentum in favor of the Honkers. However, as the Honkers began to drive for the endzone and use the new momentum to overpower the Bruins, the Bruins forced a fumble and recovered on their own 35 yard line.
Coach Bavaro’s offensive unit put together a sustained drive that included a 35 yard sweep to the right as Senior running back Brig Schofield got the edge and powered for 35 yards down the right sideline. The drive would be capped off again by another 35 yard pass to the back corner of the endzone from sophomore quarterback Andrew Burger #4 to again, junior receiver Manny Zamora #86 putting the Bruins up 14-0 at the 7:32 mark of the 3rd quarter.
The Bruin defensive unit continued to be tough on the Honkers, stopping their speed and not allowing Lakeview to control the middle of the line. As the game clocked ticked into the late 4th quarter, the Bruins managed another drive led by quarterback Andrew Burger who refused to settle for sacks and ran to sustain downs. The Bruins drove to the 7-yard line after another Burger to Zamora 20 yard pass and then handed the ball to Brig Schofield who powered his way into the endzone putting Brookings-Harbor up 21-7 with 4:10 left in the 4th.
But the Honkers weren’t done just yet and managed to find the endzone on the next possession with a couple of sweeps to the left sideline in less than a minute. Lakeview closed the gap to 21-14 with just 3:00 minutes left in the game. The Honkers, trailing with nothing to lose, attempt another in-side kick and recover after the ball deflects off a Bruin defender. Again, the Honkers drive the 40 yards to endzone in less than a minute putting the Honkers within an extra point, 21-20. In a tense moment with 2:00 minutes left in the game, #2 Brig Schofield broke through the line and dramatically blocked the extra point leaving the score at 21-20 Bruins.
The Bruins would kill the rest of the clock and go on to take the win with a final score 21-20 giving the Bruins their first home win in a very long time. A proud and excited Coach Bavaro said: “Our coaches and kids were relentless from start to finish tonight.., In these back and forth games our coaches and players get a lot of learning experiences, and we’re excited for our next opportunity as a good South Umpqua team comes to town”.
The Bruins will match-up next Friday, September 28th, against the 2-2 South Umpqua Lancers at home again at 7:00 pm.
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