NEW BETHLEHEM, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Redbank Valley quarterback Bryson Bain spent much of the first quarter on the sideline, throwing spirals to a teammate to stay loose.
(Tick. Tick. Tick.)
Just where Brockway head football coach Jake Heigel wanted the senior QB.
Heigel’s game plan was clear: Keep the Bulldogs’ high-powered offense off the field.
And for the first 18 minutes of the game, it worked.
(Tick. Tick. Tick.)
But then the final six minutes of the half came.
(Boom.)
Redbank Valley scored 36 points in the final 5:56 of the second quarter with Bain tossing three touchdown passes, and the Bulldogs used that explosion to carry them to a 51-0 win over Brockway Friday night.
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“You learn and see what they’re doing and then you change what you’re doing, make adjustments,” Bain said. “We went out in the second quarter, figured it out and started rolling and putting points on the board.”
Redbank Valley (4-1) got just one first down before it had to punt the ball away on its opening drive and then Brockway converted three consecutive third-and-longs to chew clock. Eventually, that time-consuming, meticulous march ended when Aiden Ortz intercepted Rover freshman quarterback Brayden Fox inside the Bulldogs’ 20.
That’s as close as Brockway (1-4) came to scoring on the night.
Eventually, Redbank Valley’s offense got into a groove. Bain hit Marquese Gardlock at the Rover 2 and Gardlock twisted and extended the ball over the goal line for an 8-yard touchdown reception to begin the onslaught.
Less than three minutes later, Ray Schreckengost plowed in from the 3 for a 14-0 Redbank lead. On Brockway’s second offensive play after that score, Joe Mansfield sacked Fox, causing a fumble. Schreckengost scooped it up and sprinted into the end zone to make it 22-0 with 1:55 remaining in the half.
The Bulldogs weren’t done.
Tate Minich caught TD passes of 7 and 12 yards from Bain just 24 seconds apart to make it 36-0 at the break against shellshocked Brockway.
Bain threw for 126 of his 134 yards in the final six minutes of the second quarter. Bain, despite being a senior, was playing just the fifth game of his high school football career after joining the team for the first time this season.
“I’m definitely more comfortable back there,” Bain said. “The line stepped up big. They’re always giving me good pockets, and I trust every single one of the wide receivers we have out there. I know they’re going to make a big play.”
Minich caught four passes for 73 yards. Gardlock had four receptions for 31 yards and Mason Clouse three catches for 22 yards for the Bulldogs.
If there was one quibble to be found in a 51-point win, Redbank Valley didn’t run the ball consistently. Schreckengost finished with 31 yards on 11 carries. The Bulldogs only averaged 3.8 yards per rushing attempt.
“We obviously have a lot of faith in Bryson’s arm, but there’s gonna be some times strategically that if we can’t get that running game going, we’re going to have some issues,” said Redbank Valley coach Blane Gold. “If you want to win football games in late October and November, you have to be able to run the ball.”
While the Bulldogs’ offense tends to get all the glamor, the defense has performed just as well this season.
Redbank Valley’s defensive line mauled Brockway, which had minus-5 yards rushing. Brockway also lost 40 yards on bad snaps.
The Bulldogs’ defense was almost without Mansfield, who was in an automobile accident shortly before the game. He was uninjured, but Gold wasn’t sure if the star senior defensive end would arrive at the stadium in time to play.
Mansfield, though, made it to the field.
“Joe had an interesting game,” Gold said. “About an hour and a half before kickoff, he was in a pretty serious car accident — both vehicles were totaled. He showed up and played. I give that kid a ton of credit. Any of us who’ve been in our first car accident, we know how scary that can be. He called me and he was definitely worked up. It was a pretty warm reception when No. 2 came down the hill for warmups.”
Mansfield and the rest of the defensive held Brockway running back Carter Hickman to just 11 yards on 17 carries.
“We’ve got to figure out what we’re going to do up front,” Heigel said. “We’ve got to figure out how we’re going to score points. I think we’re a ways away, but I think we have the capability of finding a way to do it.”
Fox was 8 of 15 for 65 yards for Brockway. Alex Carlson caught seven of those passes for 59 yards.
“You can see the status of two programs right now,” Heigel said. “He has a really good program. They’re continuing to get better. We’re at the start of our build.
“What I can say is I liked in the third quarter we didn’t give up a point. I was happy with my team about that,” Heigel added. “Everything else, I was not happy with.”
Gold is pretty happy as Redbank Valley heads into a showdown with Smethport next week on the road in the rematch of the District 9 Class A championship game last year.
“We have to be mentally tough and weather that bus ride,” Gold said. “Those long trips can have an impact. We have to make sure we come off that bus ready to play.”
Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.
