By JAMES SEAY
For The Reporter
NOBLESVILLE – The Class 4A No. 8 Brebeuf Jesuit Braves beat the 3A No. 5 Guerin Catholic Golden Eagles 28-7 as both teams kicked off Circle City Conference play Friday at the Eagles Nest.
Early in the game each team played inspired defense which led to consecutive punts. Guerin worked to establish a rhythm early by leaning on the legs of junior Cooper Navarro and the arm of junior Ryan Zimmerman. After an extended drive Guerin was forced to punt. The Braves responded quickly by taking the next play all the way to the house for an 85-yard run.
“When you are playing a good football team, you just can’t get away with the mistakes we made” Coach Dilley said after the loss.
The following drive for the Golden Eagles ended in an interception for Zimmerman. Brebeuf junior Javawn Brooks completed the acrobatic one-hand grab to nab the turnover. Not to be outdone, junior Nathan Synder intercepted Brebeuf two plays later. Guerin cashed the turnover in for a score on a touchdown pass from Zimmerman to Navarro to tie the score at seven.
On the next possession, the Golden Eagles had an opportunity when they recovered a muffed kick off, but stalled and pushed a field goal attempt wide left. Brebeuf went on a long drive only to be picked off again by Synder in the end zone. It was the second big turnover from Synder which help the Golden Eagles keep things close.
Late in the second quarter, disaster struck when starting quarterback Zimmerman was injured on a sack by the Braves.
“We had some adverse circumstances happen during the game – we all had to pick it up during the game and we did not do that,” Dilley said. The coach was still waiting to know the extent of the injury for the quarterback. Sophomore Malcolm Houze was thrust into the role and unfortunately threw two pick-six interceptions that all but sealed the game for Brebeuf.
“We will learn what we can from this film, flush it and be ready to compete next week,” the coach said after the game.
Navarro finished the game with 76 yards rushing.
Guerin (3-1) will travel to 4A No. 2 Roncalli (4-0) next Friday for another Circle City Conference showdown. The game will kick off at 7 p.m.
BREBEUF JESUIT 28, GUERIN CATHOLIC 7
Score by Quarters
Brebeuf Jesuit 7 7 14 0 – 28
Guerin Catholic 7 0 0 0 – 7
Team Stats BJ GC
First Downs 10 15
By Rush 6 6
By Pass 4 5
By Penalty 0 4
Rushes-Yards 27-182 39-116
Yards Passing na 108
Comp-Att-Int-TD 8-28-2-0 13-34-3-1
Fumbles-Lost 2-2 1-1
Penalties-Yards 7-66 3-15
Punts-Average 5-40.8 4-29.3
Guerin Catholic Scoring
First Quarter
Cooper Navarro 16-yard pass from Ryan Zimmerman (Evan Guenthner kick)
Guerin Catholic individual stats
Rushing: Navarro 11-76, Justin Zdobylak 22-65, Zimmerman 1-2, team 5-minus 27.
Passing: Malcolm Houze 7-23-58, Zimmerman 6-11-50.
Receiving: Alex Gibbs 3-14, Zdobylak 3-12, Will Fremion 2-32, Jack Cherry 2-14, Navarro 1-16, Harrison Miller 1-13, Liam Miller 1-7.