by Story by Brandon Miller
The Falcons did not waste any time finding the end zone as the opening kickoff was returned 87 yards to the house by senior Devin Linn to open the scoring but after a failed extra point by senior Rocco Iafolla the Falcons led 6 to 0. On the ensuing Cardinals possession senior quarterback Ben Montgomery found his classmate Brennan Gainer for a 43-yard touchdown pass to put his team up 7-6 after a successful point after attempt by junior kicker Noah Adkins. The Falcons then converted a third down conversion when senior Joshua Kovach rushed 11 yards on this drive ultimately ended in the Falcons having to punt. This punt led us into the second quarter with the Cardinals up 7-6.
To start the second quarter, Montgomery rushed 5 yards to convert a third down to keep a drive alive and to set up the Cardinals into prime scoring position but unfortunately Adkins missed a field goal attempt and the drive stalled as they turned the ball over on downs. The Falcons took advantage as senior running back Joshua Kovach bolted through the defense for a 40-yard gain to put his team into the red zone.
On the very next play, senior quarterback Jim Aunspaw found his classmate Logan Urban for a 16-yard touchdown pass, but a botched extra point left us at a score of 12-7 in favor of the Falcons. The Cardinals punted the ball on their next drive and it led to yet another Falcons touchdown when Aunspaw found Urban again for a big 72-yard touchdown pass and after a failed two-point conversion attempt, the Falcons now led 18 to 7. After back to back punts, we headed to half time with the Falcons up 18 to 7.
The second half started with a defensive battle as nobody could get anything going as both teams swapped punts for the entire quarter and the score stayed 18 to 7 through three quarters in favor of the Fireland Falcons. The scoring picked back up though to start the fourth quarter when the Falcons converted a one-yard rush by Aunspaw which converted a fourth and short. On the next play, senior wide receiver Liam Varndell rushed 1 yard into the end zone to put his team up 25 to 7 after a successful point after attempt by Iafolla.
The Falcons got tricky by converting on an onside kick. The Falcons then capitalized on this trick play when Varndell found paint again from 6 yards out, but the senior holder Eli Simon could not handle the snap but decided to take it himself to convert a two-point conversion to increase their lead 33 to 7. The Cardinals did not give up though as they scored on the final possession when Montgomery scored from a yard out and with the successful point after attempt by Adkins the scoring and the game ended.
The player of the game is Logan Urban for the Falcons, he had two catches for 91 yards and two touchdowns. The player of the game for the Brookside Cardinals was Montgomery who was 4 for 8 for 67 yards and a touchdown through the air and he rushed 20 times for 81 yards.
Next week the Falcons will host the 5-1 Clippers of Clearview whereas the Brookside Cardinals will look to bounce back from back to back losses when they host the 1-4 Keystone Wildcats.
