For a half, it looked like Holly would spoil Brandon’s Homecoming game Sept. 26.
However, Brandon senior quarterback Devin White, playing in relief of starter Andrew Burch, sparked the Blackhawks to a stirring comeback as Brandon defeated Holly 29-22 for its first win of the season.
Holly led 22-7 at the half, but Brandon roared back for 22 points in the third quarter and held off the Bronchos in the fourth quarter to give first-year Brandon head coach Ron Gill his first win at the helm.
Gill said he and his staff challenged the team in the locker room at halftime.
“We told them this was a test they would remember,” he said. “Each of them had to look in their soul. We told them if they didn’t believe they could finish the game the way they were supposed to, they shouldn’t leave the locker room (for the start of the second half). Of course, they all left. I think it (coming back) says a lot about their character. No matter the circumstances, we had to believe in ourselves and each other. As a coaching staff, we were very proud of them. We eliminated the mistakes we were making in the first half.”
Gill also talked about why he made the switch in quarterbacks for the second half.
“Devin is our starter and has been since the beginning,” he said. “He’s had a banged-up hand. Starting midweek, he was able to take some snaps. We decided he needed to be in there.”
It was a turnover-filled game on both sides, as the Blackhawks (1-4 overall, 1-2 in the Flint Metro League) fumbled three times and the Bronchos fumbled twice and threw two interceptions. On the first play of the game, Brandon’s Nate Perry fumbled, setting up a 28-yard touchdown pass from Holly quarterback Paul Dryer to Derek Stinchcomb to put the Bronchos up 6-0.
Brandon answered with a two-yard touchdown run from Burch. Mike Cybulski converted the point-after attempt to give the Blackhawks a 7-6 lead after one quarter.
However, Holly (0-5, 0-3) came right back in the second quarter, as Matthew Turner scored on a 13-yard touchdown run and Bradley Cox ran back a Brandon punt 82 yards, giving the Bronchos the 22-7 halftime lead.
Turnovers played a big part in the Blackhawks’ comeback, as Brandon took advantage of three Holly second-half turnovers with three touchdowns.
The Blackhawks opened their third-quarter scoring surge with a 10-yard touchdown run by senior running back Jonathan Preston to trim the Holly lead to 22-14.
Perry then picked off a Holly pass and returned it 20 yards for another Brandon touchdown, bringing the Blackhawks within one point, 22-21. The Blackhawks then capped off their comeback with an 17-yard touchdown pass from White to senior tight end/defensive end Matt Ruppert late in the third quarter.
For the game, junior running back Derek Foyt rushed 10 times for 63 yards, while Preston carried the ball 18 times for 63 yards.
Brandon traveled to Lapeer West for a Oct. 3 game. The Blackhawks return to action at 7:30 p.m. Oct. 10 when they host Fenton in their final home game of the season.
The Tigers lost a 21-14 contest to Linden Sept. 26, dropping to 1-4 and 1-2 in the Flint Metro. Last season, Fenton went 4-5 overall and 2-4 in the league, tying the Blackhawks for fourth place.
Key returnees for the Tigers are: fullback Rob Perry, halfback Nick Schmidt, safety Jason Brown, offensive guard Adam Bates, offensive tackle Hamza Blackher and offensive guard Nick Hodge.