Brownsboro erupts in second half of 36-21 victory

By Joseph Elerson Sports Correspondent

VAN — The finale of the first annual Van Fall Football Classic did not disappoint the fans of the Kemp Yellowjackets and the Brownsboro Bears Friday night in the season opener for a pair of teams that were in the playoffs a year ago.

The Bears came away with a 36-21 victory as both teams headed into the halftime tied at 15-15, but Brownsboro found a way in the second half to contain Kemp running back Cris Murray.

“We had a lot of inexperience on defense tonight and I do have a good bunch of seniors, and you cannot simulate the game,” said Brownsboro Head Coach John Settle. “They made some great adjustments at halftime and we came out and did some good things.”

Murray ran for 135 yards and two scores of 67 and 68 yards in the first half. He finished with 148 yards on 13 carries.

“Cris is a good player for us and he had a good offseason,” said Kemp Head Coach Greg Anderson, whose team fell to 0-1. “We need to do a little bit more for him to sustain the offense and do it throughout both halves.”

On the opening play of the game, Kemp quarterback Jeremy Quick tossed the ball to Murray on the end-around and he scampered 67 yards untouched to paydirt for the early 6-0 lead.

Brownsboro (1-0) countered back with a nice drive of its own as Cameron Warren cashed in from five yards out to give the Bears their first lead of the game. J.D. Minyard booted the PAT good with 7:23 remaining to make it 7-6.

On fourth down deep in Brownsboro territory, the Bears fumbled the snap in the endzone for a safety, however, to put Kemp back on top, 8-7, in the second quarter.

Murray then rumbled his way 68 yards to paydirt to put the ’Jackets up, 15-7. That score didn’t stand for long, as Jon Thompson tied it at 15 with a 15-yard run with 2:23 left before halftime.

“We expected the first half to play out like it did tonight,” Anderson said. “We were able to jump out on them early and went into halftime tied up knowing that it was going to be a two quarter game.”

Settle said playing on a neutral field in the first half was a shock to his players.

“In hindsight, I probably would not have done it (played on this field) because I had so many kids who had not played varsity football before but we put them in this atmosphere,” he said.

“We are pleased and Coach Anderson and those guys did a great job tonight. They are a team that you are going to have to beat and they are not going to beat themselves.”

In the second half, the Bears scored on a 22-yard touchdown pass from Zach Bailey to Warren, a one-yard plunge from Warren and a 38-yard punt return by Austin Adair to push their lead to 36-15 with 6:58 remaining in the game.

Kemp rounded out the scoring with a one-yard quarterback sneak by Quick for the 36-21 finale.

Warren led the way for the Bears with 17 carries for 62 yards.

“Unfortunately we did not come out in the third quarter and play it like we wanted to,” Anderson said. “We enjoyed coming over here and we knew we were in for a tough fight. I think Brownsboro is better this year than they were last year. I wish we could have played the third quarter differently and made the outcome better.”