By David Fleet
dfleet@mihomepaper.com
Brandon Twp. — The Martian Football team kept the Milk Cup Trophy, shutting down their Blackhawk neighbors in the annual BackYard Brawl. On Oct. 11, the Goodrich Martians Varsity Football team defeated the Brandon Blackhawks, 42-14 in a Flint Metro League game.
For the first half the annual Backyard Brawl was reminiscent of a classic rivalry game with the Martians and Blackhawks deadlocked 7-7 starting the third quarter. Then the Martians took charge with 28 unanswered points and never looked back.
“The third quarter was a nightmare,” said Blackhawk Head Coach Brad Zube. “The defense played great for two quarters. It’s a tough loss, the kids battled and played great in the first half.”
The Blackhawks tallied 355 yards of offense with 209 yards in the air and 146 on the ground. BHS Lance Briolat completed 12 passes on 17 attempts and 1 TD. BHS Damian Watton rushed 22 times for 94 yards and BHS Luke Hanson had eight runs for 41 yards and 1 TD.
Receiving BHS Kurt Briolat two catches for 83 yards and 1TD and BHS Damian Watton four receptions for 53 yards and BHS Luke Hanson three catches for 44 yards. On defense Luke Hanson and Jesse Moultrup each had eight tackles while BHS Darrin Linenger had six tackles and a sack.
The Blackhawks had nine penalties for 75 yards and the Martians had six for 45 yards.
The Martians rolled-up 403 yards of offense with 268 yards on the ground and 135 in the air.
GHS #25 Chase Burnett had 12 carries for 118 yards and two TD; GHS #16 Tanner Mazich had seven carries for 82 yards and two TD.
Last year the Martians defeated the Blackhawks 48-0 in the regular season and retained the Milk Can Trophy awarded to the winner of the rivalry.