Overcoming adversity is a common theme often heard around the football field, but Bishop Brossart did just that Friday evening at O.W. Davis field in Dayton. In the first half, the Mustangs lost their starting quarterback, Keegan Gulley, and a cheerleader who was injured when a mass of players falling out of bounds on a play crashed into the squad, their momentum pushing her to the wall.
Each was taken to the hospital for further evaluation.
The Greendevils came out looking like it had something to prove, taking control of the line of scrimmage as senior running back Landyn Hopper added the exclamation point to Dayton’s opening drive of the 2022 season with a 42-yard run up the middle and into the end zone for a 6-0 Greendevils’ lead midway through the first quarter. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt failed as quarterback Russell McIntyre’s pass slipped out of his grasp.
After the Mustangs went three-and-out, Hopper picked up where he left off, keeping the Brossart defense on its heels with modest yard gains. On a hot August evening, those add up. He added to his yardage total to begin the second quarter bouncing outside and racing to the corner of the end zone for six more points for the Greendevils, and a 12-0 lead.
However, they would begin to unravel on Brossart’s next drive with the Devils committing three costly penalties.
With three yards to gain for a new set of downs and inside the Greendevils’ 35-yard line, Brossart’s Gulley ran around his right side toward the sideline where he was tackled by a host of Dayton defenders late out of bounds, injuring the first-year starter on the play in which he received medical attention from the Dayton-Bellevue paramedics and was taken to Cincinnati Children’s Hospital for further evaluation.
The Mustangs immediately rallied around their injured quarterback and took advantage of Dayton mistakes. After backup Tyler Holtz’s pass into the back of the end zone fell incomplete, flags indicated a pass interference penalty on Dayton. One play later, senior running back Evan Orth powered across the goal line for a 10-yard touchdown for the Mustangs. After the Greendevils jumped offsides, Brossart elected to go for two, converting and cutting into the Dayton lead, 12-8.
Dayton continued to hand the ball off to Hopper on its next possession, but the sophomore met Mustang defenders in what were open holes only a quarter earlier. McIntyre called his own number following two consecutive losses by Hopper losing nearly 10 yards, but Brossart was ready, forcing a Greendevils’ punt.
On the Mustangs’ next drive, it lost another student to injury – only this time, it was someone outside the boundaries of the football field cheering on the team. A similar situation like the one which injured the Mustangs’ quarterback in the first quarter, the play featured a pile of players falling out of bounds, their momentum knocking the cheerleader into the wall near the field at the 88-year-old stadium. Like Gulley, she would be transported to the hospital for further treatment and evaluation.
Following the delay, Brossart’s Orth found his way across the goal line for the second time of the game, giving the Mustangs a 15-12 lead into halftime.
Dayton received the kickoff to begin the third quarter, but its penalties continued, committing a 15-yard personal foul after punting away, giving Brossart good field position. The Greendevils held for three downs but Holtz’s keeper on fourth resulted in another late hit penalty on Dayton, giving the Mustangs another chance. Orth’s nine-yard run put Brossart at the Dayton 20, and then added another first down run of eight. Two plays later, he tacked on his third score of the night from 10 yards out, putting the Mustangs in front, 21-12.
However, Dayton’s McIntyre was intercepted by Alex Amin deep inside Greendevils’ territory and Amin had nothing but green grass in front of him to the end zone for the interception return.
After only 12 seconds had ticked off the clock, Brossart recorded another scoring play to widen its lead, 28-12.
Dayton got on the scoreboard to begin the final quarter as Brossart punted out under the shadow of its own goal posts as the Greendevils possessed the ball in Mustangs’ territory to start their drive. Hopper found the holes he did in the first quarter, putting his team near the goal line following three big runs. On first-and-goal, McIntyre plunged in from a yard out to cut into Brossart’s lead, 28-18.
“We had to replace a lot of parts” from the 2021 team that finished 12-1, Mustangs’ Head Coach Paul Wiggins said. “There’s a projection on us and we need to keep taking strides,” regarding the added buildup from last season. “It was adversity and we rallied,” saying the early prognosis he’d heard of his quarterback was not good.
Next up, Bishop Brossart takes on Newport (0-1) at the Mustang Athletic Complex on Thursday at 7 p.m. Dayton travels to Pendleton County on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Correction: An earlier version of this article identified Peyton Hopper as the Dayton player referenced. It was Landyn Hopper. LINK nky regrets the error.
