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Pike wins shootout over Brownsburg
By Jeff Robison Flyer Correspondent | Posted: Saturday, August 22, 2015 12:10 am
Pike wins shootout over Brownsburg
STRONG ARM: Brownsburg quarterback Hunter Johnson fires a pass.
BROWNSBURG — Both Pike and Brownsburg showed off their high-octane offenses in Friday night's football opener. The Red Devils produced 606 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns, more than offsetting the host Bulldogs’ 516 yards as Pike won 55-34.
In a game that lasted more than three hours, Pike struck a final blow with a 37-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Hawthorne (366 yards passing, 5 TDs) to receiver Johnny William with three minutes still to play.
Brownsburg showed offensive brilliance at times, but coach Brett Comer and his team could not gain the victory.
“I am sure that was a fun and entertaining game for the fans to watch,” Comer said. “But, it was a frustrating game (as a coach) because we had trouble getting stops. The game went back and forth, but we made a couple of miscues — Game 1 things that you have to clean up.”
After falling behind early, Brownsburg rallied from a two-score deficit and took a 27-20 advantage during the second quarter.
Hunter Johnson found Tyler Kirtz for an 11-yard TD pass to finish a 13-play drive early in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs surged to the lead with single-play possessions after converting a fumble recovery into a 77-yard scoring pass from Johnson to Kirtz, and followed a punt change of possession with Carson Gill running 71 yards on a trap play, putting Brownsburg up 27-20.
“We have some guys that can play and have the ability to score quickly,” Comer said. “We were able to put up 34 points against a very athletic Pike team, and we are not happy.”
The Bulldogs would be unable to maintain that quickly earned lead.
Cameron Peterson ended a long drive with a 17-yard run, and Hawthorne and William produced a 15-yard touchdown pass as Pike carried a 34-27 advantage into the break.
While both defenses did show better after the half, Pike stretched its lead as Davario Reid (138 yards) combined his first four carries into a score.
The Red Devils then made the contest's biggest defensive play as Purdue recruit Joshua Hayes came up with a pick-6 on Johnson to pull out to the game’s biggest difference of 21 points.
Johnson (17 of 37, 249 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT) and Kirtz came up with one last TD connection to end the third quarter, but two potential scoring drives went empty as the Bulldogs' hopes for a late rally were quashed.
Defense will be a focus for Brownsburg going forward.
“We have to keep people in front of us and avoid big plays,” Comer said. “We had one blown coverage, and we had a couple opportunities to get guys on the ground, and we didn’t.”
Pike wins shootout over Brownsburg
By Jeff Robison Flyer Correspondent | Posted: Saturday, August 22, 2015 12:10 am
Pike wins shootout over Brownsburg
STRONG ARM: Brownsburg quarterback Hunter Johnson fires a pass.
BROWNSBURG — Both Pike and Brownsburg showed off their high-octane offenses in Friday night's football opener. The Red Devils produced 606 yards of total offense and seven touchdowns, more than offsetting the host Bulldogs’ 516 yards as Pike won 55-34.
In a game that lasted more than three hours, Pike struck a final blow with a 37-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Derek Hawthorne (366 yards passing, 5 TDs) to receiver Johnny William with three minutes still to play.
Brownsburg showed offensive brilliance at times, but coach Brett Comer and his team could not gain the victory.
“I am sure that was a fun and entertaining game for the fans to watch,” Comer said. “But, it was a frustrating game (as a coach) because we had trouble getting stops. The game went back and forth, but we made a couple of miscues — Game 1 things that you have to clean up.”
After falling behind early, Brownsburg rallied from a two-score deficit and took a 27-20 advantage during the second quarter.
Hunter Johnson found Tyler Kirtz for an 11-yard TD pass to finish a 13-play drive early in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs surged to the lead with single-play possessions after converting a fumble recovery into a 77-yard scoring pass from Johnson to Kirtz, and followed a punt change of possession with Carson Gill running 71 yards on a trap play, putting Brownsburg up 27-20.
“We have some guys that can play and have the ability to score quickly,” Comer said. “We were able to put up 34 points against a very athletic Pike team, and we are not happy.”
The Bulldogs would be unable to maintain that quickly earned lead.
Cameron Peterson ended a long drive with a 17-yard run, and Hawthorne and William produced a 15-yard touchdown pass as Pike carried a 34-27 advantage into the break.
While both defenses did show better after the half, Pike stretched its lead as Davario Reid (138 yards) combined his first four carries into a score.
The Red Devils then made the contest's biggest defensive play as Purdue recruit Joshua Hayes came up with a pick-6 on Johnson to pull out to the game’s biggest difference of 21 points.
Johnson (17 of 37, 249 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT) and Kirtz came up with one last TD connection to end the third quarter, but two potential scoring drives went empty as the Bulldogs' hopes for a late rally were quashed.
Defense will be a focus for Brownsburg going forward.
“We have to keep people in front of us and avoid big plays,” Comer said. “We had one blown coverage, and we had a couple opportunities to get guys on the ground, and we didn’t.”
