Two of the biggest plays the Brentwood Bruins made Friday night weren’t on offense or defense, but rather on special teams.
Twice the Bruins were able to to block the Memphis Central Warriors’ PAT attempts. The second was, by far, the most important, as it came with just 2:03 left and maintained a tie at 27.
It allowed the game to go to overtime, where Brentwood (8-4) scored and picked off Memphis Central (10-2) to end the upset at 34-27 and send the Bruins into the Class 5A quarterfinals.
After Kaden Dreier hit Christian LaBreche with a 25-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter to put the Bruins up 27-13, it looked as if Brentwood was in the driver’s seat.
The Warriors came storming back, though, answering with a quick 76-yard touchdown pass and adding a two-point conversion. They later scored the final touchdown of regulation on a 15-yard run, and the PAT was blocked to send the game to overtime.
Not only did the Bruins have big plays on special teams, but they also came up with game-changers defensively. They intercepted three passes, one of which was returned 35 yards for a touchdown by LaBreche.
With the upset victory, Brentwood advances to take on Region 7-5A rival Centennial (11-1) in the state quarterfinals.
Centennial defeated Brentwood 27-17 on Oct. 14. The Bruins have rattled off four straight wins since that game.
