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Much of Friday’s season-opening football game between Broadneck and St. Mary’s looked like a knockdown, drag-out fight destined for a dramatic conclusion.
A stiffening and opportunistic Bruin defense, a hallmark of the most recent Broadneck team, swung the game on successive plays.
Tyrin Chinn-Thompson returned an interception for a touchdown, Ian Mauldin found the end zone twice, and the Bruins pulled away from St. Mary’s in the fourth quarter with a quickfire knockout blow to win 28-13.
Through three quarters, the game looked like a prize fight destined for the judges’ scorecards. That is, until Broadneck (1-0) landed a knockout punch early in the fourth quarter.
A botched punt attempt gave Broadneck the ball at the St. Mary’s 13-yard line, from which Mauldin called his shot and scored on the next play.
Then, on the Saints’ first play of the next possession, Chinn-Thompson diagnosed the pass play before the ball was ever snapped. He raced to the spot he knew the ball would be, beat the receiver to the spot, and sauntered 20 yards the other way for a momentum touchdown.
In three plays spanning less than 30 seconds, the Bruins had gone from clinging to a one-point lead to firmly in control.
“I knew it was coming from studying their film. We ran it (in practice Thursday) and I had two picks, and that gave me a lot of confidence,” said Chinn-Thompson. “This was great for us because it’s mostly a new defense (in terms of personnel), and to make the adjustments and play like we did in the second half gives us a lot of confidence.”
It was a best-case first-game scenario, in a sense. The Bruins won and gave a good defensive performance in the second half, but there is still plenty to go back and work on. They had nine penalties for 80 yards, including three of the 15-yard variety, and two field goal attempts sailed wide of the right upright.
“It was fun to come out and hit people. I didn’t think I was going to be hitting linebackers, but I’m trying to add more power after being all speed last year,” said Mauldin, who had 120 yards on 17 total touches. “It was great to get out and play a real game; the scrimmages didn’t have the energy like was out here tonight. … Now we just have to clean up some of the little things.”
C.J. Watkins completed 11 of 21 passes of 167 yards, adding 18 yards on the ground. The Bruins outgained St. Mary’s in yardage 294-235.
The Bruins had trouble stopping St. Mary’s rushing attack in the first half, as featured running back Dom Scali had 141 total yards and both Saints touchdowns. But they made defensive adjustments and bottled both Scali and St. Mary’s up in the second half, allowing just 75 total yards and keeping the Saints off the scoreboard.
There were three key moments in the second quarter, each of which threatened to give St. Mary’s momentum only to see Broadneck take it back.
After scoring on a 57-yard run in the first quarter, Scali popped a second long run and looked set to weave through the defense until Michael Swick punched the ball free from behind, and Blake Levicki fell on it to turn the ball over.
Not long after, Broadneck fumbled the ball and St. Mary’s returned it for an apparent touchdown. Not only was the score wiped out by an illegal block, but an illegal procedure call against the Bruins also resulted in offsetting fouls and returned possession to Broadneck. That drive ended with a short touchdown run from Aaron Foote, which put the Bruins ahead for good.
Finally, with half a minute left in the quarter, Scali scored a touchdown to put the game at 14-13. But Caydin Evans broke through the line and blocked the PAT, ensuring Broadneck kept the lead at halftime. St. Mary’s didn’t score again.
“Something like that extra point is huge, especially late in the half,” said Broadneck coach Rob Harris. “They think like they have momentum, and all of a sudden you get it back and it really boosts you.”
That momentum, and some halftime adjustments, paid dividends in the second half. It was a rising resistance reminiscent of the defense of last year’s state finalist Bruins team, which got tougher as the game went on and made key plays when it mattered. The performance on Friday was perhaps even more important, as St. Mary’s showed a quality back with a big offensive line — something that the Bruins are sure to encounter from any playoff opponents they might face if they make another deep run.
Scali finished with 30 carries for 210 yards.
“That’s why we’ve played (MIAA) A Conference teams the last four years,” Harris said. “St. Mary’s is a good team, well coached, they’ve got a good back and their line is huge. We had to make some adjustments at halftime, and the coaches and our kids did a great job with it.”
Broadneck hosts Arundel next week.
Broadneck 28, St. Mary's 13
St. Mary's 7 6 0 0 --13
Broadneck 7 7 0 14 --28
First quarter
SM – Scali 57 run (Beatty kick) 6:05
B – Mauldin 7 pass from Watkins (Jordan kick) 6:05
Second quarter
B – Foote 2 run (Jordan kick) 4:11
B – Scali 9 run (kick blocked) 0:30
Third quarter
No scoring.
Fourth quarter
B – Mauldin 13 run (Jordan kick) 11:32
B – Chinn-Thompson 20 interception return (Jordan kick) 11:16
Team statistics
Total Yards: St. Mary’s 235, Broadneck 294.
Rushing Yards: St. Mary’s 216, Broadneck 127.
Passing Yards: St. Mary’s 19, Broadneck 167.
First Downs: St. Mary’s 13, Broadneck 12.
Penalties: St. Mary’s 5-42, Broadneck 9-80.
Turnovers: St. Mary’s 2, Broadneck 0.
Individual Statistics
Rushing – St. Mary’s: Scali 30-210, Pack 5-16, Brown 2-6, Fresty 1-2, Hitaffer 3-(-3), Koch 1-(-15); Broadneck: Mauldin 11-63, Hayes 3-32, Watkins 7-18, Foote 4-11, Pierce 1-3.
Receiving – St. Mary’s: Fresty 5-16, Kravitz 2-5, Scali 1-(-2); Broadneck: Smargissi 3-64, Mauldin 6-57, Tupper 1-36, Foote 1-10.
Passing – St. Mary’s: Hitaffer 8-12-1-19; Broadneck: Watkins 11-21-167.
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