Centennial 24
Brophy 14

Photo by Ben Liu ’15 | Brophy’s Robert Brooks makes a touchdown catch Sept. 11 in between two Centennial defenders. Centennial defeated Brophy 24-14.

By Chase Bayless ’15
THE ROUNDUP 

Down by three points with 2:35 left in the game, Brophy’s offense had a chance to mount a game-winning drive Thursday, Sept. 11, but were unable to do so as they lost 24-14 against Centennial.

The Broncos’ offense scored two long touchdowns through the air, but struggled at times to sustain drives.

“That’s been our issue all year. We’ve had some big plays, but no consistency,”said head coach Mr. Scooter Molander.

The two biggest plays came from quarterback Cade Knox ’16 as he delivered 43-yard and 32-yard touchdown passes.

IsaiahOliver ’15,who is the current team leader in receptions (13), receiving yards (282) and touchdowns (3) for the season, was on the receiving end of the first one as he got behind the cornerback for the score.

Sophomore Robert Brooks ’17 caught the second touchdown early in the 4th quarter. It was the first of his Brophy career and made it in traffic with two defenders draped over him.

Knox finished the night12 of 22 passing for 140 yards, along with the two touchdowns and an interception. He was also sacked three times and forced to scramble outside the pocket throughout much of the game.

The running game was led by starting tailback Ryan Velez ’16,who ran for 59 yards on 16 carries.

“We need to establish a run game much better,”Mr. Molander said in order for the offense to become more consistent.

On the defensive side of the ball, the Broncos gave up 24 points to Centennial’s run-heavy offense, but Mr. Molander said hewas pleased with their play.

I felt like our defense played well, we just needed to score more points tonight,”hesaid.

In the fourth quarter down 17-14, the team had the ball on two different drives, but failed to get any points out of it. However, they were also pinned back deep in their own territory both times.

Centennial then put the game out of reach after a touchdown run with 44 seconds left, leading to the 24-14 defeat.

The Broncos will look to halt their two-game skid next week when they play at Red Mountain Friday, Sept. 19.

Notes:

• “We had some miscues personnel wise on special teams that cost us essentially a turnover the first time it happened,”Mr. Molander said.
• The defense forced one turnover in the form a fumble recovery, which led to the Oliver touchdown on the very next play.
• All of Centennial’s kickoffs were deliberately short and away from Brophy’s returners.
• This is Bronco’s second straight loss to Centennial after losing last year 17-13.
• The team’s next opponent, Red Mountain, is 0-3 on the season.
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