by BEREA, Ohio — For nearly 48 minutes, Berea-Midpark looked like it was going to pick up right where it left off against Brunswick.
Then, with 33 seconds left, everything changed.
Brunswick scored the game’s final touchdown on fourth-and-10 with just 33 seconds left and stunned the Titans 47-42 Friday night at George Finnie Stadium on the campus of Baldwin Wallace University, completing a comeback in which the Blue Devils never led until the final half-minute.
The Blue Devils, who lost 28-7 to Berea-Midpark in Week 1 last season, flipped the script this time. Brunswick overcame a 14-point deficit in the second quarter, trailed by 15 with less than eight minutes remaining and then scored the game’s final three touchdowns to steal the victory.
The wild opener featured 13 combined touchdowns and more than 900 yards of total offense.
For much of the night, however, the spotlight belonged to Berea-Midpark wide receiver Nick Reece.
Titans strike first
Brunswick received the opening kickoff, but its first drive ended in a costly mistake.
A bad snap on a 41-yard field-goal attempt gave Berea-Midpark possession, and the Titans quickly made the Blue Devils pay.
With about three minutes remaining in the first quarter, quarterback Dylan Papushak faced fourth-and-7 and dropped back looking for a big play.
He found Reece.
Reece hauled in the pass and raced 33 yards to the end zone, giving Berea-Midpark a 6-0 lead after the extra-point attempt was blocked.
The Titans’ defense continued the pressure when Darius Collins intercepted Brunswick quarterback Connor Jamison on the ensuing Blue Devils possession.
Then Reece struck again.
On the second play of the second quarter, Papushak found Reece for a 40-yard touchdown, and Xaviere Harden powered in for the two-point conversion.
Just like that, Berea-Midpark had a 14-0 lead.
Reece was becoming nearly impossible for Brunswick to contain.
The Blue Devils finally answered with 8:08 left in the half when Anthony Gamboa broke through for a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
Then Jamison found Adin Evert for a 50-yard touchdown with 5:26 left, and suddenly the two-score game had become a tie game.
But Berea-Midpark had an answer every time Brunswick landed a punch.
At 4:05, Papushak connected with Andre’ Alexander for a 30-yard touchdown to put the Titans back in front 21-14.
Then came Reece again.
With 1:15 remaining in the half, Papushak found him for an 8-yard touchdown, Reece’s third touchdown reception of the first half.
Berea-Midpark led 28-14.
The Titans then recovered a pooch kickoff at the Brunswick 24-yard line, seemingly giving them another chance to add to the lead.
Instead, Brunswick’s defense came up with a huge play.
With 40 seconds left, No. 6 Luke Leichliter recovered a fumble by Harden.
Jamison and the Blue Devils quickly went to work.
They drove the length of the field, and with just two seconds remaining before halftime, Jamison found Evert for a 9-yard touchdown.
The score sent Brunswick into the locker room down only 28-21.
The Titans answer again
Berea-Midpark received the second-half kickoff and went right back to work.
With 8:23 left in the third quarter, Harden powered through the Brunswick defense for a 2-yard touchdown, pushing the Titans’ lead back to 35-21.
Brunswick refused to let the game get away.
With 1:35 remaining in the third quarter, Jamison found Gavin Ballok for a 15-yard touchdown.
A bad snap ruined the extra-point attempt, but the Blue Devils had cut the deficit to 35-27.
And that set up a fourth quarter that felt more like a heavyweight fight than a season opener.
With 7:36 remaining, Berea-Midpark quarterback Papushak was on the sideline dealing with a cramp.
So, the Titans turned to Reece.
From the Wildcat formation, Reece took the snap, found a crease and exploded through the Brunswick defense.
He was gone.
Fifty-eight yards. Touchdown.
The Titans’ sideline erupted as Reece crossed the goal line, and the extra point pushed Berea-Midpark’s lead to 42-27.
It looked like the knockout blow.
Instead, it was the beginning of Brunswick’s comeback.
Brunswick refuses to go away
With 5:25 remaining, Jamison scored on a 1-yard touchdown run.
The extra point was no good, but Brunswick was still alive at 42-33.
Then the Blue Devils struck again.
With 1:31 remaining, Jamison found Ballok for an 8-yard touchdown.
Suddenly, Brunswick was within 42-40.
The Blue Devils still had three timeouts, and they needed one more stop.
They got it.
Berea-Midpark was forced into a fourth-and-6 situation at its own 47-yard line with one minute remaining. The Titans tried to keep the clock moving, but the pass fell incomplete.
Brunswick had the ball. One drive could change everything.
They started the drive off with 3 straight incompletions and it was all down to one play.
The Blue Devils faced fourth-and-10 with 33 seconds remaining.
Jamison took the snap and looked down the right side of the field.
He launched the ball toward Jake Tamosiunas.
Tamosiunas got behind the defense.
The pass dropped into his hands, and he raced the final yards for a 47-yard touchdown.
Brunswick’s sideline exploded.
For the first time all night, the Blue Devils were ahead.
Brunswick 47, Berea-Midpark 42.
The Titans had one final chance.
On the first play of the ensuing possession, Berea-Midpark went back to Papushak.
This time, Brunswick’s defense won the battle.
Adin Evert intercepted Papushak, ending the game and completing one of the wildest comebacks we will see this season.
Big plays
The game was filled with momentum-changing moments:
- Nick Reece: 33-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-7 in the first quarter.
- Nick Reece: 40-yard touchdown reception on the second play of the second quarter.
- Darius Collins: first-half interception of Connor Jamison.
- Adin Evert: 50-yard touchdown reception to tie the game at 14.
- Andre’ Alexander: 30-yard touchdown reception to put Berea-Midpark back ahead.
- Nick Reece: 8-yard touchdown reception with 1:15 left in the first half.
- Adin Evert: 9-yard touchdown reception with two seconds left in the half.
- Nick Reece: 58-yard Wildcat touchdown run with 7:36 remaining in the fourth quarter.
- Gavin Ballok: 8-yard touchdown reception with 1:31 remaining to pull Brunswick within two.
- Berea-Midpark: fourth-down incompletion at its own 47-yard line with one minute left.
- Jake Tamosiunas: 47-yard touchdown reception on fourth-and-10 with 33 seconds remaining to give Brunswick the lead.
- Adin Evert: game-sealing interception on Berea-Midpark’s final possession.
Touchdown scorers
Berea-Midpark
- Nick Reece: 3 receiving TDs, 1 rushing TD
- Andre’ Alexander: 1 receiving TD
- Xaviere Harden: 1 rushing TD
- Dylan Papushak: 4 passing TDs
Brunswick
- Anthony Gamboa: 1 rushing TD
- Adin Evert: 2 receiving TDs
- Gavin Ballok: 2 receiving TDs
- Connor Jamison: 1 rushing TD
- Jake Tamosiunas: 1 receiving TD
- Connor Jamison: 5 passing TDs
Player of the Game — Berea-Midpark
Nick Reece, WR/RB
It is hard to imagine a more electric performance from a player who didn’t get the final result.
Reece was a constant problem for Brunswick from the opening quarter through the final whistle. He caught three touchdown passes from Papushak, including a 33-yarder on fourth-and-7 and a 40-yarder early in the second quarter.
Then, with Papushak on the sideline dealing with a cramp in the fourth quarter, Reece moved into the Wildcat and broke loose for a 58-yard touchdown run.
Reece finished with 174 yards of total offense and four touchdowns.
Full stat line:
- Receiving: 7 receptions, 116 yards, 3 TD
- Rushing: 1 carry, 58 yards, 1 TD
- Total offense: 174 yards
- Total TDs: 4
Every time Berea-Midpark needed a spark, Reece seemed to provide it.
His performance kept the Titans in control for most of the night and made him the clear Player of the Game for Berea-Midpark, despite the heartbreaking finish.
Player of the Game — Brunswick
Connor Jamison, QB
Jamison was the engine behind Brunswick’s comeback.
After throwing for 160 yards, two touchdowns and an interception in the first half, he exploded after halftime with 254 passing yards and three touchdowns.
He finished with 414 passing yards and five touchdowns, adding a rushing touchdown of his own.
Full stat line:
- Passing: 28-for-43, 414 yards, 5 TD, 1 INT
- Rushing: 4 carries, -7 yards, 1 TD
- Total offense: 407 yards
- Total TDs: 6
And when Brunswick needed its biggest play, Jamison delivered. His 47-yard touchdown pass to Tamosiunas on fourth-and-10 with 33 seconds left turned a two-point deficit into a five-point lead.
By the numbers
Berea-Midpark
- Passing: 356 yards
- Rushing: 148 yards
- Total offense: 504 yards
- Passing TDs: 4
- Rushing TDs: 2
- Turnovers: 2
Brunswick
- Passing: 414 yards
- Rushing: 127 yards
- Total offense: 541 yards
- Passing TDs: 5
- Rushing TDs: 2
- Turnovers: 1
Top receivers
- Berea-Midpark — Andre’ Alexander: 4 receptions, 137 yards, 1 TD
- Berea-Midpark — Nick Reece: 7 receptions, 116 yards, 3 TD; 1 carry, 58 yards, 1 TD
- Brunswick — Adin Evert: 8 receptions, 159 yards, 2 TD
- Brunswick — Anthony Gamboa: 10 receptions, 90 yards
- Brunswick — Jake Tamosiunas: 2 receptions, 86 yards, 1 TD
- Brunswick — Gavin Ballok: 2 receptions, 23 yards, 2 TD
Final
Brunswick Blue Devils 47, Berea-Midpark Titans 42
For nearly the entire night, Berea-Midpark had the game in its hands.
The Titans led 14-0, 28-14, 35-21 and 42-27.
But Brunswick kept coming.
The Blue Devils scored three touchdowns in the final 5:25, turning a 42-33 deficit into a 47-42 victory. The final blow came on fourth-and-10, when Jamison found Tamosiunas for 47 yards with 33 seconds left.
One play later, Brunswick had the ball again after Evert intercepted Papushak.
Just like that, a game Berea-Midpark had controlled for most of the night belonged to Brunswick.
The Blue Devils avenged last year’s 28-7 loss in unforgettable fashion.
