The Walton-Verona Bearcats scored the game’s first 14 points like the flip of a switch and never lost the lead.
It didn’t come as easy after that, but the Bearcats grinded out a 27-14 victory over Bishop Brossart at the Mustang Athletic Complex. The season-opener for both teams marked the first meeting between the two since 2012.
“It was big to get out in front,” said Jeff Barth, Walton-Verona head coach. “We don’t want to be coming from behind and we know Bishop Brossart is a good football team. We knew they were going to be in it for four quarters. We just had to hunker down a little more defensively.”
Walton-Verona displayed balance, rushing for 129 yards and passing for 123. Senior quarterback Jackson Smith rushed for 66 yards and two touchdowns and completed 7-of-16 passes for 111 yards and two interceptions.
While Smith got off to a fast start, much like his times in track and field, Brossart did a better job containing him after the first two drives of the game.
While Brossart had success in the run game with 125 yards led by junior running back Cameron Mandel with 86 yards, the passing game never found its rhythm, finishing with just 34 yards on 20 Keegan Gulley pass attempts. The Mustangs continuously tried to throw the ball downfield, but could not complete any long ones. Senior Max Montgomery had an interception late in the fourth quarter.
“That wasn’t even my guy,” Montgomery said. “(Gulley) kept staring over there before the play so I was like, ‘I’m just going to jump this,’ hoping he would throw over there and he did. (The coaches) tell me if I see something, I can go for it, follow my instinct and try to make a play.”
The Bearcats used good field position to jump ahead in the first quarter. They marched down the field after taking over at their own 46 and scored when Smith scampered around the left side for a four-yard touchdown with 5:25 remaining.
Junior defensive back Trace Dalton then intercepted a Gulley pass and returned it to the Mustang seven, setting up the Bearcats in great position. On 2nd-and-goal, Carter Daniels scored from three yards out and senior Lincoln Mann made the point-after kick to put the Bearcats up 14-0 with 3:45 left in the first quarter.
“We’re very happy with our secondary,” Barth said. “Then we have some linebackers who are good in coverage. We’re blitzing and putting pressure on them. Being able to shut down their passing game and make it more one-dimensional helped. Then when you get ahead a couple scores, that certainly helps as well to take away some of their running game.”
Brossart responded on a 39-yard touchdown run from Mandel, breaking several tackles and busting down the right sideline. Tyler Smith made the PAT to put the Mustangs on the board, trailing 14-7 with 9:04 left in the half.
The Bearcats offense responded. On a 3rd-and-10, Smith found Trace Dalton in one-on-one coverage and Dalton scampered down to the Brossart one for a 66-yard play. It looked as if the Mustangs would hold, but Smith came through for his second rushing touchdown to put the Bearcats up 21-7 with 6:07 left in the half.
“I always use my first three steps and I don’t always use the same route,” Dalton said. “I try to look, lean and try to catch it. I caught it and almost ran it in for a touchdown. (Smith) always looks for me and tries to throw it to me.”
The Mustangs responded with a six-play, 75 yard drive. On second down from the Bearcat 17, Gulley broke free for the rushing touchdown to trim the lead to 21-14.
Brossart had the chance to tie it before halftime when sophomore Anthony Schuck picked off Smith and returned it to the Bearcats 18, but ran out of time just short of the end zone before the halftime horn.
“That’s what I love about the teams I have here,” said Paul Wiggins, Brossart head coach. “They’re resilient. After (the 14-0 hole), we kind of settled into things. We just have to settle in a little earlier and execute down on the goal line. We had two faux paus that shouldn’t have happened because we practice it too much. But it happened. I thought we had some things figured out and we didn’t. A good football team takes advantage of that and they did.”
The defenses took over in the second half, Walton-Verona using their special teams to tack on field goals of 27 and 38 yards in the third and fourth quarter respectively to make the final score.
“This is my fourth year as a starter and I put hours into practice,” Mann said. “It’s just memory at this point. I’m just going out there and I’m doing what I do every day. I go up there and I blank to be honest. Nothing is really going though my head. I relax myself and just try to go out there and make the kick.”
Walton-Verona travels to Newport Central Catholic (0-1) on Friday at 7 p.m. and Brossart takes on Ohio visitor Bethel-Tate (0-1) at the same time back at the MAC.
BEARCATS 27, MUSTANGS 14
WALTON-VERONA — 14-7-3-3 — 27
BISHOP BROSSART — 0-14-0-0 — 14
Scoring Plays
1st Quarter
(WV) Smith 4-yard run (5:25) Mann kick
(WV) Daniels 3-yard run (3:45) Mann kick
2nd Quarter
(BB) Mandel 39-yard run (9:04) Smith kick
(WV) Smith 1-yard run (6:07) Mann kick
(BB) Gulley 17-yard run (2:45) Smith kick
3rd Quarter
(WV) Mann 27-yard field goal
4th Quarter
(WV) Mann 38-yard field goal
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Walton-Verona 123 (Smith 7/16, Corpus 1/1), Brossart 34 (Gulley 9/20)
Rushing Yards: Walton-Verona 129 (Smith 21-66, Diop 8-25, Wiethorn 7-23, Corpus 2-13, Daniels 4-2), Brossart 125 (Mandel 9-86, Gulley 9-35, Schroeder 1-4)
Receiving: Walton-Verona (Dalton 1-66, Corpus 3-35, Montgomery 4-22), Brossart (Amin 3-22, Schroeder 2-4, Tischner 1-4, Cozzi 1-2, Geiman 1-1, Mandel 1-1)
Turnovers: Walton-Verona 2, Brossart 2
Penalties: Walton-Verona 7-48, Brossart 5-21
Records: Walton-Verona 1-0, Brossart 0-1