New Stadium, Same Results; Bruins Get Another Big Win to Move to 4-1

By Brian Bartley
October 4, 2008
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As the clock ticked down to :00, the Blacksburg Bruins had successfully opened up the new Bill Brown stadium in the same way they closed the old one, with a win.  This time, instead of an easy victory, the Bruins had to fight from behind to knock off the Northside Vikings by a score of 28-25.

"All the wins you get are sweet, and all the losses you get hurt," said Bruin's coach Dave Crist of his team's comeback, "...but they trusted each other all year and they care about each other."

This game did not always appear as if it would be a close one, as Blacksburg scored two times early in the first quarter to open up a two-touchdown lead over the Northside Vikings.

The first touchdown came on the Bruin's first possession when Trey Gresh capped of a seven-play, 25-yard drive with a five-yard pass to Eric Houff.  Brand Robinson converted on the extra point and just like that, Blacksburg was up 7-0 with 10:00 left in the first.

On their next possession, Gresh hooked up with Eric Houff again, this time for a 24-yard touchdown.

On the ensuing extra point, however, Brand Robinson missed his kick wide to the left.  With the failed attempt, the Bruins led 13-0, and looked on track to dominate.

Following a few defensive stops for each team, the Vikings showed signs of life late in the first quarter as they drove down the field for 74 yards on seven plays, ending in a 17-yard touchdown pass by Viking quarterback Ryan Kieth. 

Just as Robinson had missed for Blacksburg, Viking kicker Sam Carruthers failed to convert his extra point attempt, and the Bruins led 13-6 

As the second quarter got under way, both the Bruins' and Vikings' defenses settled in and found a rhythm. 

Neither team scored again until late in the quarter when Northside's Dustin Phelps caught a slant and ran 80 yards for a Viking touchdown.  After yet another failed extra point by Carruthers, the Bruin's led 13-12.

That lead got even larger for the Bruins when David Bales plowed in from one yard out to score a touchdown.  This time, Robinson converted the extra point attempt, and Blacksburg closed out the first half with a 20-12 lead.

The Northside Vikings got the ball to start the second half, and were able to score a touchdown only 5-plays later. 

Down 20-18, the Vikings lined up to try and convert a two-point conversion, but an illegal motion penalty backed them up five yards.  With the added yardage, Northside was unable to convert, and the Bruins retained their two-point lead.

Neither team was able to score for the remainder of the third quarter, leaving the score at 20-18 to start the fourth quarter.

Northside saw its first lead of the game a minute into the fourth on a wild play where Phelps, playing defense, caught a deflected pass near the Blacksburg sideline and returned it 68 yards for a score.  After the extra point, Northside went up by a score of 25-20.

With this touchdown, Phelps had scored all three of the Viking's touchdowns, two on offense and one on defense.  

As the fourth quarter rolled on, things looked bleak for the Bruins, as they had lost all of the offensive rhythm they had sustained in the first half. 

Down by five with the Vikings in the midst of a clock killing drive, the Blacksburg defense provided an opportunity to stay alive, intercepting a Viking pass with 4:23 left in the game.

This was just the cue that senior quarterback Gresh had been looking for.  After being shut down for much of the game, Gresh was left with the task of leading one final drive and needing a touchdown.

Gresh did just that with about a 1:30 left on the clock.  On a third down from the Northside 14-yard line, Gresh was able to evade an almost sure sack, rolled to his right, and delivered a pass to the back corner of the end zone that Jon Jennings was able to haul in for the go-ahead touchdown. 

After a two-point conversion pass to Ricky Sowers, Blacksburg saw itself with a 28-25 lead, and on the verge of a magical win to open the new stadium.

Northside, however, would not go down without providing some thrills of their own.  After a couple of completions and a Bruin personal foul, the Vikings had the ball in Bruin territory with under a minute to play.

Kieth then completed a pass out into the flats to none other than Phelps.  This time, however, Phelps had committed a costly error, fumbling the football at the Bruin 27-yard line, and giving the ball back to Blacksburg.

After two Gresh kneel downs, and the Bruin student body was on the field celebrating the victory with the team. 

"We were fortunate to win this one like this," Crist said, "last week we lost one like this"

With the win, the Bruin's now move to 4-1 on the season, and prepare for a tough slate of River Ridge District games.

"Expect games like this every Friday night," Crist said of entering district play.  "The River Ridge is as strong as it's ever been.  You know, there are six quality football teams in the River Ridge.

Next week's game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m., when the Bruins head into Roanoke to play the Cave Spring Knights. 

GAME NOTES AND STATS

Team Statistics:
Total Yards:              Blacksburg: 284         Northside:    295
Passing Yards:         Blacksburg: 202       Northside:  177
Rushing Yards:        Blacksburg: 82         Northside:    118

Individual Statistics:         
Passing:
Trey Gresh (Blacksburg):  14 of 29, 202 yards, 3 TD's
Ryan Kieth (Northside):  10 of 18, 177 yards, 3 TD's
Rushing:
David Bales (Blacksbrug): 11 carries for 49 yards, 1 TD
Jon Jennings (Blacksburg): 7 carries for 24 yards, 0 TD's
Dustin Phelps (Northside):  8 carries for 58 yards, 0 TD's  (3 total TD's- 2 Rec., 1 Def.)
Isaiah Martin (Northside):   5 carries for 28 yards, 0 TD's
Tackles:
Brandon Brodkin (Blacksburg): 5.5 Tackles
Eric Houff (Blacksburg): 4.5 Tackles
Jon Anderson (Northside): 7.0 Tackles
Andre Mitchell (Northside): 6.5 Tackles