Garber 31-14 Win Over Bridgeport Guarantees Share of League Title
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A lot was on the line Friday night. For Garber, it was the guarantee of at least a co-championship, their first since 2004. Standing in their way is a Bridgeport team with a very talented quarterback and an explosive offense.
"Bridgeport has always been a very athletic team," explained Coach Dave Schwartz. "(They are) very skilled and very fast. They are extremely well coached."
All MyBayCity Photos by John Keuvelaar
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(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)
Garber's defense came out determined to contain quarterback Bryson Ruffin and put pressure on him. Bridgeport moved the ball across midfield to the Garber 40. On fourth down, Ruffin ran the option but a fumbled pitch gave Garber the ball on their 42. After an Andrew Aho engineered first down, Garber looked to strike early through the air. Jake Hebert was hit on the pass causing a "wounded duck" which was intercepted by the Bearcats on their 44.
Garber's defense got aggressive. After pushing the Bearcats back two yards, the secondary came up big, timing a hit on the receiver as the ball arrived and forcing a punt.
Garber took over on their 35 and jumped on the A-Train. With well blocked holes and Aho's quick, slashing rushes, the Dukes moved down the field. Aho finished it off putting the Dukes up 6-0.
Bridgeport got their offense moving. A mixture of runs, scrambles and short passes had them looking to tie the score. Then a 10 yard pass coupled with a jarring hit resulted in another fumble giving Garber the ball on their 15.
All MyBayCity Photos by John Keuvelaar
http://koovsphotography.com/
http://koovsphotography.com/
As Coach Schwartz later revealed, "Our game plan was to pound it (the ball)," Schwartz said. "And with Andrew Aho, our offense starts with him and ends with him," Schwartz added.
And started it did.
Having previously used an all Aho scoring drive, the Dukes went right back to that formula. Sprinkling in a couple rushes from others, the Dukes marched 85 yards capping the drive off with an Aho run. This put Garber out front 12-0.
After both sides exchanged possessions, Bridgeport got on the move. Ruffin hit #10 on a 10 yard pass play bringing them to the Garber 23. On the next play, the Dukes forced a third fumble, recovered by Shane O'Mara who ran it out to the Duke 45 with 1:35 left in the first half.
While Garber looked to add to their lead, the Bearcats sacked Hebert twice forcing a punt. A high booming punt was dropped with Garber recovering on the Bearcat 30. The Dukes wasted no time as Hebert hit Jimmy Cornejo in the back of the end zone for an 18-0 half time lead.
The second half started as a test of wills. Bridgeport was determined to stop Andrew Aho and Garber looked to keep the Bearcat offense off the field. Garber took the kickoff and started grinding the ball down field. The Bearcats would stop Garber for a couple plays but then Garber would respond with a run just enough for a first down, eating up the clock. On a key play, Hebert hit Cornejo on the 10 for a first down. Then Aho bounced outside the end, bullying through four Bearcats for a touchdown. The whole drive took 6 minutes off the clock.
Ruffin literally tried to will his team back into the game. They moved into Duke territory, and then Ruffin scrambled looking for an open receiver. Spotting Ham, the pass defected off his hands and was grabbed by Travis Britko. A few moments later, the Bearcats intercepted Hebert and got things going. On the arm and legs of Ruffin, the Bearcats scored at the beginning of the fourth quarter. A key extra point attempt was stopped making it a 3 possession lead for Garber, 24-6.
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Tonight, the Dukes had a championship to win. They jumped back on the A-Train. Anticipation grew as each run seemed like Aho was about to break one all the way. The crowd was not disappointed as Aho broke a 48 yard touchdown run and with the extra point, Garber was ahead 31-6.
Bridgeport responded with a quick score taking only 1:07. With the extra point, it was 31-14. A failed onside kick gave Garber midfield position. However, they soon turned the ball back over to Bridgeport on a fumble and it was feared they would get things going. Jimmy Cornejo ended that threat with an interception and the Dukes were Co-Champs.
For the game, Andrew Aho rushed 41 times for 276 yards. Shane O'Mara lead the defense with 11 tackles and two fumble recoveries while Jimmy Cornejo added 7 tackles and an interception.
Bridgeport was lead by Bryson Ruffin who accounted for 270 of the Bearcats total offense with 167 yards rushing (most of which came on elusive scrambles) and 105 passing.
Garber now gears up for next weeks non-league match with cross town rival John Glenn at Garber.
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John Keuvelaar |
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