Extreme Escape Games Game of the Week
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By SAM McGAW
The Brentwood Bruins had their statement win Saturday night.
One week after nearly upsetting defending Class 5A champion Independence, the Bruins responded with a 41-10 victory over defending Class 6A champion Ravenwood.
“I think we can only go up from here,” Brentwood junior quarterback Carson Shacklett said. “We played in a great atmosphere and came out with a victory. Hopefully, we can build off this and carry it for the rest of the season.”
The game was tied at 10 for nearly 23 hours after lightning forced officials to postpone the matchup at halftime Friday. Ravenwood received the ball to open the second half Saturday.
“It was what it was, but it was equal for both teams,” Brentwood head coach Ron Crawford said. “It wasn’t what we wanted, and it wasn’t what they wanted, but that’s something we can’t control. Our kids acted and responded well to it, and I’m very, very proud of our victory.”
Brentwood poured on 31 points in the final 14 minutes.
This was its first win over its cross-town rival since 2012.
“Honestly, this is going to be the biggest blessing of our season,” Ravenwood first-year head coach Richie Wessman said. “It’s going to teach us how we need to work, how we need to act and how we need to be every single second of every single day.”
Ravenwood quarterback McCain Marrow lost three fumbles, threw two interceptions and was sacked five times.
The Bruins forced four of those turnovers in the second half, and their last four scoring drives began inside the Ravenwood 38-yard line.
“We had the ball in great field spots and we finished our drives,” Crawford said. “It’s hard to find something without seeing the film that’s a negative right now.”
An interception by Brentwood safety Zach Barnitt set up a 61-yard touchdown connection from quarterback Carson Shacklett to wide receiver Will Leone for a 17-10 lead with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter.
“We saw some man coverage outside and we like our targets up top,” said Shacklett. “We believe in our guys, so we just took some shots downfield.”
The Bruins started their next drive at the Ravenwood 19 following a shanked punt. Wide receiver Parker Bullion capitalized one play later with an 18-yard touchdown on a screen pass from Kaden Dreier with 15 seconds left in the frame.
Bullion finished with a team-high six receptions for 108 yards.
Shacklett extended the lead to 31-10 just over two minutes later with a 5-yard touchdown run.
He closed with 194 passing yards and 58 rushing yards.
“[Shacklett] did everything in his power to get us the win,” Bullion said. “He led us to victory. It was all him.”
Tucker Day’s 31-yard field goal put Brentwood up 34-10 with seven minutes to play, and Frankie Smith’s 5-yard touchdown run capped the scoring with 1:55 remaining.
“Other than it being awkward and weird and the longest halftime I’ve ever been around, you have to give them credit, but we beat ourselves,” Wessman said. “When you have that many turnovers and you’re just coughing the ball up, there’s no excuse for it.”
A fumble by Brentwood running back Collin Rudolph on the first play of the game Friday set up a 14-yard touchdown pass from Marrow to wide receiver John Rall less than three minutes into the first quarter.
Rall had a game-high 10 receptions for 117 yards and one touchdown.
Rudolph made up for his error in the ensuing drive with a 5-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7 with 7:40 left in the opening frame.
He finished with 90 rushing yards on 26 carries.
Ravenwood pulled ahead 10-7 following a 28-yard field goal by Jim Roebuck with 7:52 left in the second quarter.
Day sent the game into halftime tied at 10 with a 27-yard field goal as time expired in the first half.
Sam McGaw is sports editor of Home Page Media Group. Email him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @SamMcGawSports.
