by The Brookside Cardinals 2023 campaign started at home this Friday (August 18) against the Brooklyn Hurricanes at Sevits Stadium. Things got off to a great start for Brooklyn when sophomore Rajon Foster took the opening kickoff all the way down to Brookside’s 20-yard line. However, the defense stepped up and forced a turnover on downs. The Cardinals also stalled as well on the following possession.
Cardinal punter Tyler Kitzberger had one of the highlights of the game. The ball was snapped over his head, but he retrieved it and miraculously sent a 48-yard punt that was downed at the 2-yard line. After a three-and-out for the Hurricanes and a short punt, the Cardinals were the ones given great field position this time. A holding penalty prevented a touchdown, however, so Brookside settled for a field goal from Noah Adkins.
Then, Adkins delivered a perfect onside kick that was recovered by Shawn Moore. It set the Cardinals right back up in Hurricane territory and eventually to the red zone, courtesy of costly penalties. After a third offside, Kitzberger ran it in from two yards out for the first touchdown of the game. The extra point was no good, but the Cardinals extended their lead to 9-0.
On the next Hurricane drive, quarterback Jackson Diller found Avian Berta for a huge 32-yard gain. It was the biggest offensive play of the game for Brooklyn. Two plays later Diller was looking for Berta downfield again but was intercepted by Ben Montgomery of the Cardinals. The Hurricanes got the ball back three plays later when Rajon Foster intercepted Cardinals quarterback Nick Arra on third down.
After a short punt from the Cardinals, the Hurricanes were again gifted with great field position. But they were taken off the field swiftly, on a three-and-out. The Cardinals held their 9-0 lead going into a lengthy halftime with the field lights going out, causing a delay.
On the second-half opening kick off Ben Montgomery broke off a 32-yard return all the way out to the Hurricane 44. Montgomery continued to dominate rushing for all 44 yards. He capped off the drive with a 26-yard touchdown run to extend Brookside’s lead to 15-0. On the ensuing kickoff, the Cardinals forced a Hurricane fumble, which was recovered by Brookside freshman Brody Hamilton. The Cardinals cashed in off the fumble when Nick Arra found Montgomery in the back corner of the end zone for a 24-yard score.
This put the Cardinals up 22-0 with just over six minutes left in the third quarter. Later on, Cardinals kicker Noah Adkins had his 35-yard field goal attempt blocked. Hurricanes Jon Treska returned it all the way back to midfield. That did not deter the Cardinals, though. They began the fourth quarter by marching right down the field on all run plays, pushing their lead to 28-0 on an Arra 3-yard rushing touchdown.
With just over four minutes to go, freshman Trevor Kitzberger scored his first career touchdown, putting the Cardinals up 35-0. The Cardinals then recovered another one of their own kickoffs and were able to run out the clock from there. It was pure dominance from the Brookside Cardinals in this game. They start off 2023 1-0 with a 35-0 victory over Brooklyn.
Player Of The Game:
Brookside Cardinals- Senior RB Benny Montgomery: 16 RUSH, 130 YDS 1 TD with 3 REC, 41 YDS 1 TD, and 1 INT
