Little Prexies double up Falcons
WASHINGTON – Don Bartolomucci sees the potential for success when he watches his Brownsville football team play. The trouble is he only catches glimpses of it and then the picture starts to get blurry again. Such was the case Friday night when the Falcons fell at Washington, 39-18, in a driving rain.
“We play in spurts,” Bartolomucci said. “We play well for a little while, then we break down. We just can’t put it all together.”
J.R. Ward scored three touchdowns, including a game-breaking, 98-yard kickoff return to begin the second half, and Travis Thomas rushed for 195 yards and another score as the Prexies (4-2, 2-1) pulled into a third-place tie with Greensburg Central Catholic in the Interstate Conference. The defending Class AA state champions lost to the Centurions last week.
“Even though we lost to Greensburg last week, this team has continued to get better,” Prexies coach Guy Montecalvo said. “They beat a doggone good football team in Brownsville tonight.”
The Falcons (2-4, 1-3) fell into sixth place in the seven-team conference, but remain in the playoff race.
Dougie Patterson led Brownsville with 118 rushing yards and several key plays on defense.
Washington’s first three possessions resulted in points, although the third one was for the wrong team.
Thomas capped a seven-play, 51-yard march with a 17-yard run on the Prexies’ first possession, and quarterback David Calabrese finished up a four-play, 66-yard drive with a one-yard plunge midway through the quarter.
The Falcons notched their only first down of the first half after the kickoff when Carson Thomas broke free for a 38-yard run. The drive stalled, but Brian Gates punt pinned Washington in at its six-yard line.
Montecalvo inexplicably called for a pass at that point, and the play backfired when Calabrese was sacked in the end zone for a safety to make the score 12-2 and give Brownsville new life.
Carson Thomas returned the ensuing free kick 21 yards to the Washington 43. The Falcons gained only two yards in three plays, then opted against punting the Prexies into a hole again and went for it on fourth and eight. Gates’ pass fell incomplete, however, and Washington countered with a nine-play, 59-yard drive that Ward finished up with a two-yard run around right end to make it 18-2.
Brownsville’s Mark Battaglini snuffed out Washington’s next drive when he buried Travis Thomas for a slight loss at the Falcons’ 47 on a fourth-and-one play.
Ward ended any thoughts the Falcons had of getting back into the game with his third-quarter kick return, which made it 24-2. Ward bobbled the ball at the two-yard line, then was hit by two players at the 20 before breaking free and scampering down the right sideline.
“Travis made a tremendous block on that return to free J.R. up,” Montecalvo said.
The Prexies all but put the game away on their next possession, despite a heroic effort by Patterson.
The big play in the drive was a 37-yard run by Travis Thomas which would’ve went for a touchdown if not for Patterson’s tackle at the 10. Patterson nailed Calabrese with a hard tackle near the sideline after a five-yard gain on the next play. On third and goal from the six, Patterson barged through the line and sacked Calabrese for a six-yard loss. All that did was set up a 12-yard TD toss by Calabrese to Ken Evans on fourth down to make it 32-2.
Patterson got a little revenge on Brownsville’s next possession when he broke around right end for a 39-yard touchdown run. The score came two plays after Gates tossed a 21-yard pass to Mike Stanley on fourth-and-six fake punt. It was Gates’ only completion of the night in nine attempts.
Ward scored his third TD on a 28-yard run in the fourth quarter to put the Prexies up 39-10.
Carson Thomas’ two-yard TD with 7:35 left in the game and Patterson’s second two-point conversion run set the final score.
Thomas wound up with 58 yards on 10 carries.
Washington rolled up 359 yards on the ground and had over a 10-minute edge in time of possession.
“Both of our backs ran extremely hard,” Montecalvo said of Ward and Thomas. “They’re an outstanding high school tandem. I don’t know if there’s a better one out there.”
The Falcons knew what the Prexies were going to do on offense, prepared for it, but still couldn’t stop it, according to Bartolomucci.
“It’s a single-wing offense with motion,” said the veteran coach. “But our young kids can’t simulate what they do in practice, their speed and quickness and execution. They’re well balanced and very hard to defend.”