Noah Bargouthy (3) rushed for 168 yards.
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)

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Time Runs Out On Garber Comeback, Lose 28-26 to North Branch

Noah Bargouthy sparks comeback with key interception and runs for 168 yards

September 29, 2013       Leave a Comment
By: John Keuvelaar

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Friday night was a showdown of two teams fighting to stay in the conference title hunt. For Garber, early miscues allowed North Branch to gain the upper hand. While Garber continued to put themselves in a position to recovered from those execution mistakes, the Broncos came up with an answer of their own to stay one step ahead. In the end, North Branch's best defense to stop Garber's comeback efforts was to hang onto the football and run out the clock for a 28-26 win over Garber.

Garber miscues in their opening drive set the tone for the night. Following a nice kickoff return by Noah Bargouthy to the Duke 41, a fumbled snap led to fourth down and 13 yards to go. Garber tried to catch North Branch off guard by running a fake punt but the Broncos were ready stopping the Dukes and giving themselves great field position at the Garber 38.

Showing various formations and attacking the Duke defense from every direction, the Broncos moved right down field with Doug Stikeleather slicing through the right side of the Duke defense for a twelve yard touchdown run and a 7-0 lead.

A fumble on Garber's next possession gave North Branch great field position at the Duke 43. Garber's defense stood tall shutting down the Branch offense on fourth and inches to avoid further damage.

North Branch soon had the ball back as Garber was unable to mount a drive. A big punt put the Broncos on their 14 to start their next drive. North Branch drove to midfield before QB Jacob Young hooked up with Curtis Garza for a 58 yard touchdown strike and a 14-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.

Junior wide out Kody Wenglikowski got the Garber offense in great field position as he returned the kickoff 43 yards to the Bronco 32 nearly breaking it all the way. From there, Logan Martin engineered a drive through the air to put the Dukes on the board. First he hit Brendyn Claerhout on a pass to the Bronco 15. Then on fourth and 17, Martin found CJ Glaza who hauled in the pass then powered his way through the defenders for a Garber touchdown. As Duke miscues will haunt Garber on this night, the point after touchdown kick hit the uprights, a lost point that will come back on them in the fourth quarter.

North Branch wasted little time in regaining the upper hand. Aaron Freeland raced around left end and after it appeared he was stopped along the sidelines, the speedy back broke free for a 72 yard scamper putting North Branch up 21-6.

Garber came right back marching right back down field before being stopped at the Bronco 11 yard line.

Defenses took over the rest of the half as neither team was able to hit pay dirt the rest of the half. Garber nearly pulled within a touchdown as they took possession with little time on the clock and Logan Martin spearhead a nice drive through the air. Martin connected with Brenden Ulrey twice and CJ Glaza once to move the ball to the Bronco 10 with 3.6 seconds on the clock. But North Branch blanketed the receivers on the final play and went into the half up 21-6.

Garber's fortunes turned in their favor in the second half. A Bronco penalty set up a third and 11 on North Branch's opening drive. Noah Bargouthy stepped up intercepting the pass and the Dukes were back in business on the Bronco 31. Garber then switched to a power I formation and rode on the legs of Bargouthy to the 13 before Martin found Wenglikowski on a 13 yard touchdown pass and Garber was back in the game at 21-13.

Noah Bargouthy makes a key interception early in the third quarter.
(MyBayCity Photo by John Keuvelaar)

Poor tackling let the Bronco's take back momentum. At midfield, Young found his tight end over the middle for what appeared to be a first down catch. But the Dukes failed to wrap up his legs and the stocky receiver broke tackles then carried a defender into the end zone and just like that, it was 28-13.

A dropped kickoff put Garber pinned back on their 13. As has been the case all year, it was Bargouthy to the rescue as the tough senior tailback broke several tackles before bursting past the rest of the Bronco defense for an 80 yard touchdown run and Garber had jumped back within a touchdown, 28-20 late in the third quarter.

Then the Duke defense stepped up. After a penalty gave North Branch a first and one, Garber dropped them for a loss and forced a three and out punt. Then Martin found Simeon Berry at the Bronco 25. The senior receiver went up under heavy coverage grabbing the ball away from the defender. Martin then hit Adrian Ducre on an underneath route moving the ball to the Bronco 15. From there, Bargouthy took the rock around left end for a touchdown pulling Garber within a two point conversion, 28-26. Having missed an extra point in the first quarter, Garber went for two. As luck would have it, Martin slipped as he rolled out to pass thus falling to the turf preventing Garber from tying the game. On the kickoff, a Garber penalty forced them to kick over from their 25. While this gave North Branch great field position, the Dukes shut down the Broncos and Garber was poised to make a final touchdown drive. Having driven the ball to their 44 yard line, Martin found his receiver splitting the Bronco defense on a short post. The receiver was bumped just enough to cause him to drop the "would be" touchdown pass and with it, hopes of a final game winning comeback.

North Branch then switched to a power offensive set running an off tackle version of a student body sweep as they sent the QB and two running backs into the hole ahead of the ball carrier thus driving the ball oh, so slowly down field chewing up both time and yardage. With just over a minute to play, the Broncos converted a fourth down and four yards to go and with that, sealed the game.

Noah Bargouthy led all rusher with 168 yards on 21 carries while North Branches Aaron Freeman added 166 yards on just 12 carries. Logan Martin led the air attack with 163 yards and two touchdowns on 9 completions. Jacob Young connected 6 times for 125 yards and two scores for North Branch. Garber travels to Caro next week as they look to drive toward the playoffs.

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John Keuvelaar
John Keuvelaar is a college student at Midwest Photography Workshops and Delta College. More from John Keuvelaar

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