Friday night was a whirlwind of emotions for Bishop Brossart head coach Adam Kozerski, as he stood on the opposite sidelines of the team that helped shape his football journey.
The Mustangs cruised to a 35-0 shutout over Holy Cross, the school where Kozerski’s roots run deep.
“It was a very special game for me. I was there for the infancy of Holy Cross football,” Kozerski said. “I grew up watching my dad coach, I became a captain, helped them win a state championship and I spent the first ten years of my coaching career there. I’m so blessed to have been apart of the Holy Cross community, they gave me a tremendous start.”
With the ‘Stangs now at 6-1, Kozerski’s tenure has soared to an impressive start, highlighted by their first district victory.
“It’s such a special group of guys,” Kozerski said. “It means the world to me that they have bought in. They’re a special, smart and energetic group. I’m very fortunate to be in the situation that I’m in.”
Despite a scoreless first quarter for both teams, the ‘Stangs quickly found their rhythm and took control of the game.
Quarterback Tyler Holtz put the team on the board with 11:13 left in the second quarter, connecting with Keegan Gulley for a three-yard touchdown pass.
He capped off the first half with an 18-yard touchdown pass to his top receiver, Isaac Amin, extending Brossart’s lead to 14-0 as they headed into halftime.
“It feels great to be able to get the ball to all of my guys,” Holtz said. “It wasn’t just one guy tonight, it was everybody.”
Holtz connected with six different receivers, including a third touchdown pass of the night to Quinten Tischner in the fourth quarter.
The senior ended the game with seven completions for 101 yards. Nate Geiman led the receiving corps with a total of 39 yards.
“I saw they were giving us the short stuff,” Holtz said. “I needed to take it.”
Cameron Mandel, one of the top weapons on the team, had a stellar night in the backfield, amassing 141 rushing yards and scoring in the third to extend Brossart’s lead to 21-0.
Landon Geyer added the squad’s other rushing touchdown, powering in from one-yard out with under eight minutes remaining in the game.
The Mustangs rushed for an impressive 226 yards, while their defense stifled the Indians, allowing a mere 52 yards on the ground and 61 yards in the air. Trevin Figgs led the team with 54 rushing yards.
“Mental errors,” Holy Cross coach Curt Spencer said, “The dropped passes, the penalties down on the goal line. We’ll get it corrected. We’re a young team.”
Holy Cross drops to 2-5 on the season and 0-1 in district play, facing Trimble County on the road next week, followed by a matchup against Ludlow.
Bishop Brossart, starting 1-0 in district play, is preparing for a crucial matchup in Alexandria against Ludlow, who just clinched their first district victory over Trimble County, also putting them at 1-0 in district play. The winner of that one will have a clear path to the No. 1 seed in the district and at least two home playoff games.
MUSTANGS 35, INDIANS 0
BISHOP BROSSART — 0-14-7-14— 35
HOLY CROSS — 0-0-0-0— 0
Scoring Plays
2nd Quarter
(BB) Holtz 3-yard pass to Gulley (11:13) Runge kick
(BB) Holtz 18-yard pass to Amin (2:52) Runge kick
3rd Quarter
(BB) Mandel 18-yard run (12:00) Runge kick
4th Quarter
(BB) Holtz 4-yard pass to Tischner (12:00) Runge kick
(BB) Geyer 1-yard run (7:14) Runge kick
Game Stats
Passing Yards: Bishop Brossart 101 (Holtz 7/15), Holy Cross 61 (Maddox 9/20, Hunt 1/1)
Rushing Yards: Bishop Brossart 226 (Mandel 15-141, Geyer 10-47, Holtz 8-19, Gulley 2-12, Cozzi 1-7), Holy Cross 52 (Figgs 11-54, Maddox 4-7, Wilson 2-5, Johnson 1-3, Martin 1-(minus)4, B. Thornberry 2-(minus)13)
Receiving: Bishop Brossart (Geiman 1-39, Gulley 2-22, Amin 1-18, Ruth 1-11, Mandel 1-7, Tischner 1-4), Holy Cross (B. Thornberry 4-16, Fabre 1-15, X. Thornberry 2-13, Hunt 2-11, Wilson 1-6)
Turnovers: Bishop Brossart 0, Holy Cross 0
Penalties: Bishop Brossart 7-64, Holy Cross 5-43
Records: Bishop Brossart 6-1, Holy Cross 2-5