BROOKVILLE 39, BRADFORD 21

Oct. 6, 2006

BRADFORD – The District 9 League race got a lot more interesting following the Brookville Raiders' convincing 39-21 win over Bradford on Homecoming Night at Parkway Field in Bradford.

Max Kutz, coming off a 300-yard effort against St. Marys two weeks ago, ran for 212 more on 19 carries and two touchdowns to lead a massive offensive effort in Brookville's win that could lead to a unbreakable three-way at the top of the league standings.

Kutz wasn't alone as Brookville carved up the Owls defense for 440 yards rushing and 506 yards of offense. Joe Galbraith rushed for 149 yards and two touchdowns on 18 carries and quarterback Shane Heschke gained 74 on nine attempts.

Conversely, the Raiders shut down the top-ranked rushing offense in the district, limiting the Owls to just 128 yards. Taylor O'Brien rushed for 51 yards on 13 attempts and scored one touchdown.

Brookville led from start to finish, breaking the game open in the second half. The Raiders led 14-7 at intermission. Bradford got to within 20-14 on Ben Walter's 1-yard pass to Nick Johnson at the 3:25 mark of the third quarter, but the Raiders scored three unanswered touchdowns to take control.

Kutz scored his second TD on a 6-yard run as time expired in the third quarter, Alex Kerr returned an interception 80 yards for a touchdown -- his second of the year -- with 11:16 left in the fourth and Galbraith scored from five yards out to make it 39-14 with 5:50 remaining.

Bradford's final score came on the ensuing kickoff when Johnson returned the kick 63 yards to the end zone.

The Raiders, who improved to 5-1 overall and 3-1 in the D9 League, will get at least a share of the league crown if they beat Punxsutawney in their only remaining league game. Bradford must play DuBois while Clearfield has league games left with DuBois and Punxsutawney.

If all three take care of business, a three-way tie will happen because Brookville's only league loss is to Clearfield (39-35 Week 2), which lost to Bradford in the season-opener via the Mercy Rule, 56-35.