COUNTERPUNCH: Redbank Valley Withstands Brockway First-Half Rally, Pulls Away for 52-28 Win to Remain Unbeaten

BROCKWAY, Pa. (EYT/D9) — Early on, it looked like another Redbank Valley runaway victory.

The Bulldogs scored on their first offensive play of the game, added another first-quarter score and increased their lead to 21-0 just a few minutes into the second quarter.

But, not so fast.

Brockway scored three quick touchdowns to tie things up at 21-21 late in the first half, but Redbank Valley managed to end the half with a TD on a fourth-down pass and then scored quickly again to start the third quarter on the way to a 52-28 road win on Thursday night.

(Pictured above, with five more touchdown passes, sophomore Braylon Wagner became the single-season record hold at Redbank Valley with 38 so far this year/photo by Ripple Photography)

“Great first quarter. Second quarter — probably the worst quarter that we played all season,” said Redbank Valley coach Blane Gold. “But I was really happy with the kids that when (Brockway) tied it, they knew the importance of getting a score before halftime and then we got the ball and scored again to start the second half. That was a huge swing for us.”

Redbank Valley (9-0) raced out to that big early lead on three touchdown passes by Braylon Wagner.

Ashton Kahle, who had a huge night, took a flip pass on a jet motion and sprinted around right end for a 69-yard touchdown on the Bulldogs’ first play from scrimmage.

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Kahle again scored on a flip pass, jet motion — this time from the 1 — a few minutes later for a 14-0 advantage.

Wagner then found Ashton George on a 14-yard scoring strike with 8:37 on the clock in the second quarter to push the lead to 21-0.

Brockway (6-3) was able to withstand that early flurry of blows and delivered a few counterpunches of its own.

It started with a broken play when Rover quarterback Brayden Fox scrambled and then threw back to a wide open Caleb Daugherty for a 77-yard touchdown.

Daugherty, who is only a freshman, again caught a TD pass from Fox, this one from 17 yards out, to trim the Bulldog lead to 21-13.

Brockway completed the comeback after recovering an onside kick.

Blake Pisarcik scored from the 1 and Aiden Patton bulled into the end zone on the 2-point conversion run to knot the game at 21-21.

“I was pleased with that,” said Brockway coach Jake Heigel. “I think that’s the benefit of our schedule. As a single-A schoo, you play bigger schools and we’ve been in just about every situation you can think of like overtimes games and we’ve been down. We’ve been up significantly. We’ve kind of seen it all.”

Heigel was hoping that Redbank would wilt under its first real adversity in weeks.

The Bulldogs didn’t. They counterpunched next.

Mason Clouse scored on a 21-yard pass from Wagner with just 20 second on the clock in the second quarter to send Redbank into the locker room with the lead.

Kahle scored his third TD of the game on a 33-yard reception early in the third and the two-score breathing room for the Bulldogs was back.

“At the end of the day, when you don’t play well at times like we did tonight, you have to find a way to win and tonight was one of those nights,” Gold said. “We just found a way to win.”

Wagner used his legs to give Redbank Valley another 21-point lead, running it in from 14 yards out.

Owen Clouse booted a 32-yard field on the first play of the fourth quarter to put the Bulldog lead at 45-21 before Pisarcik made another big play for Brockway, hauling in a 60-yard TD pass from Fox.

Drew Byers capped the scoring with a 1-yard run as Redbank was able to burn valuable time off the clock in the fourth.

“That last drive, we were able to run the football down the field and punch it in,” Gold said. “That was big for us to show we can run the football against a good, physical defensive line like Brockway.”

Redbank Valley also did a good job defensively hemming in Brockway senior running back Jendy Cuello.

Wagner’s five touchdown passes gives him 38 on the season, breaking the single-season school record of 33 held by Jake Doughtery.

“Braylon will be the first to tell you that he grew up watching Jake and I was part of that team watching Jake play and what Jake did in 11 games that year was phenomenal,” Gold said. “Braylon will be the first to say he has really been blessed with a good crew of athletes around him, so him to do it in nine games is really a credit to the work he puts in and the unwillingness he has to ever settle for being good enough.”

Redbank has another big test next week when it takes on Central Clarion at home in the regular season finale.

“You’re happy to get the win,” Gold said. “We get a couple of days off to rest our bodies.”

Redbank Valley, Keystone, and Union/A-C Valley sports coverage on Explore and D9Sports.com is brought to you by Heeter Lumber.