The Brossart-Bellevue Playoff Report With Patty Goering Photos

In a first quarter that saw five offensive possessions between our two teams, it was the Brossart Mustangs, who drew first blood with merely 3 ticks showing on the stadium clock.  It came on a 13 yard Tyler Holtz to Nick Cozzi touchdown pass, capping off a 75 yard drive.  When Max Runge split the uprights, we led 7-0. 

In the second period, the Bellevue defense was stingy as we embarked on a 77 yard drive, coming as close to scoring as first-and-goal from the Bellevue 9 yard line, but flags contributed to our failure to punch it in, settling for a 29 yard Max Runge Field Goal, making it 10-0 with just over five minutes remaining in the half.  The Bellevue Tigers showed some resilience, going on a 79 yard drive of their own, culminated with an 8 yard passing score from Jordan Pendleton to Tristan Woodyard, closing the gap to 10-6.  The two point conversion effort failed and that was the score at halftime, and we had a ballgame.    

The Mustangs built on our lead taking the first possession of the second half, marching 60 yards, capped off by a 4 yard scamper by Cam Mandel.  We went for two on the PAT conversion, and Mandel executed an encore run, making it 18-6, as the Mustangs burned nearly 8 minutes on the drive.  It didn’t take long for Bellevue to answer, as Brayden Sizemore returned the ensuing kick off 95 yards for a Bellevue touchdown.  Again the two point conversion attempt came up short. trimming the Mustangs’ lead to 18-12.  

In the laborious fourth period that took forty days and forty nights to play, extending the time of the game to over 3 hours, we scored twice, one on a Keegan Gulley interception that he returned 71 yards for the score, and a few minutes later when Tyler Holtz hit Gulley in stride up the near sideline, sending Keegan 68 yards for the final touchdown of the night.  When Runge hit his fourth PAT of the night, bringing his season total to 51 (17 above the previous school record).  Bellevue was unsuccessful on a series of incomplete passes stopping the clock, but failing to produce results.  The Tigers end their season at 5 and 5, graduating only a single senior – Brayden Sizemore.

We had some outstanding performances in this game, but when the dust cleared our committee selected Cam Mandel as the Offensive Player of he Game, recognizing his two touchdowns and a 2-Point conversion, while setting the new Season Rushing school record, and Matthew “Maverick” Goering, had a career night defensively, making several impactful stops when this game was still a game.