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Sports

Bobcats Run Away From Notre Dame for First Win

Strong second half leads to first win of season for football team.

Brookfield (1-2) had to wait an extra day to get its first taste of victory this season. A sudden thunderstorm pushed Friday night’s game against Notre Dame-Fairfield to Saturday night. In the first half the team was plagued by some of the same mistakes that cost them dearly in their first two games.  In the second half everything finally clicked for the Bobcats as they pulled away with ease for a 56-14 win.

Holding onto a 22-14 lead that could have been bigger at the half, Brookfield opened the second half with an impressive seven-play, 58-yard scoring drive. Tyler Puglisi capped off the drive by scoring his third touchdown of the game on a 5-yard run.

The Bobcat defense responded to the strong statement by the offense by holding the Lancers on a fourth and short to give Brookfield the ball back at the Notre Dame 48 yard line.

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Puglisi busted off a 14-yard gain to set up a Leaon Gordon 34-yard touchdown run. The score pushed the lead to 36-14 midway through the third quarter and the rout was on.

“You know something, this is a very explosive football team, we know that it is,” Brookfield head coach Rich Angarano said, noting that they were playing against a team that they should beat. “I’m not ready to say that we’re there yet, but we got to make a push. We’re playing in a single game elimination to get to where we want to be.”

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In the first half, Brookfield got a blocked punt from David DePoi deep in Notre Dame territory on the opening possession to give the team a bolt of energy. The team couldn’t capitalize however as Notre Dame came up with an interception at the goal line.

Brookfield’s defense shut down the Lancers, leading to Brookfield getting the ball back on a short punt at Notre Dame’s 12-yard line. Puglisi scored his first touchdown of the night, giving Brookfield the early lead with a 3-yard run.

On Notre Dame’s fourth possession they finally were able to convert a first down. The Lancers put together a solid drive that was ended with a 15-yard touchdown run and a 2-point conversion for a stunning 8-7 lead to begin the second quarter.

After Brookfield fumbled on the first play of its next possession, thoughts of started to sink in.

“We had a great week of practice,” Angarano said, adding that it was surprising to see the turnovers continue to happen. “I thought there was a cloud hanging over our heads. But we are a good football team and I think we are going to show that, but until we do we have a long way to go.”

The defense returned back to form and the offense went back to run the game however and the team quickly retook the lead. Puglisi finished off a 70-yard drive that featured only running plays with a 3-yard dive into the end zone. Gordon converted the 2-point conversion with a strong effort to give the Bobcats a 15-8 lead.

Minutes later, the Bobcats opened up the passing game with quarterback Boeing Brown finding Ralph Schatz for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

It appeared then that Brookfield was poised and ready to take over the game but Notre Dame got a touchdown return on the ensuing kickoff to cut the lead back down to one score. The Bobcats marched the length of the field before the half but lost a fumble at the goal line, keeping the game close heading into the locker room.

To finish off the scoring for Brookfield, Austin Samuelson would run for two touchdowns around what would be a fourth touchdown run for Puglisi.

Following a fumble by Notre Dame, Samuelson took back-to-back carries from the 26-yard line for a score and a 42-14 lead.

On their next possession, Puglisi converted a fourth and inches from the 18-yard line for a score.

Samuelson then had the highlight of the night by breaking free for an 84-yard touchdown run.

The Bobcats are faced with a short week this week as they get set to play at New Fairfield on Thursday night.

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