Despite the score, this was an incredible effort by Bruton, who played less than ten hours after the passing of their offensive line coach, Kevin Brooks. I was in the press box at Smithfield as the moment of silence was held for Coach Brooks (and for 9/11). But for some reason, the seriousness of the moment didn't hit me right away.
I arrived home and started telling my wife about what had happened, and realized that I was sidetracked enough during the moment of silence to have not even written down the coach's name. To add insult, I never even informed Marty O'Brien, the Bay Rivers reporter at the Daily Press, about the event. As Friday evening turned to Saturday morning, and then afternoon, it occurred to me that I should report what happened. However, by then, Marty had learned of the passing and already had an article online.
Even worse, after I saw a picture of Coach Brooks, I realized that I knew him -- not well, but he was certainly a fixture around the shot and discus areas at a lot of track meets. My apologies to the Bruton family for not sharing this news sooner. Rest in Peace -- Coach Brooks.
And here's the game. Bruton, an underdog, showed heart and spirit in keeping the score tied midway through the second quarter. But the emotion of their day probably caught up with the team, although Smithfield started to find the spark in their offense.
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| Smithfield's Chris Pierce caught six balls, three for touchdowns, to lead the Packers to a 36-13 win at home. |
SMITHFIELD – Christopher Pierce
caught three touchdown passes from Nicholas Turner to lead the Packers to a
36-13 home win over Bruton.
The first touchdown connection
occurred with two minutes left in the first half. Turner, who had sat out the
previous two series at quarterback, threw a screen to Pierce, who ducked and
dodged, while eluding a last effort tackle near the goal line to log a 67-yard
passing touchdown.
Pierce added two more in the
second half, a six-yarder that was setup by a 46-yard punt return from midfield
by Willie Drew. On their next possession, Pierce caught the game-clincher, a
16-yarder on fourth-and-goal. For the game, the junior caught six passes for
112 yards.
The hosts struck first. A 30-yard
punt return from midfield by Willie Drew gave the Packers great field position
at the Panther 20. On the second play, quarterback
Nicholas Turner dropped back to pass, but instead scampered 18 yards for the
game’s
first touchdown.
Bruton (1-1) answered back late in
the first quarter as the Panthers capped a six-play, 50 yard drive with Gregory
Dockery throwing a floater down the right side, which was caught for a 28-yard
score by Jalen Carr.
Carr was also responsible for the
best defensive play of the first half, scooping up a Turner fumble and rambling
76 yards untouched for a score that tied the game at 13. Prior to Carr’s score, Lowell
Patron scored on a seven-yard sweep.
Packers’ coach Reginald
Chavis, whose team lost to Kings Fork 24-17 last week, said that his team “overcame a lot of
adversity this week, but still had a lot of work to do,” as they prepare for undefeated
Lafayette next week.
Will Robinson led Smithfield
(1-1) with 76 yards rushing on 12 carries.
BRUTON --
7, 6, 0, 0 -- 13
SMITHFIELD -- 7,13,
2, 14 -- 36
First quarter
S – Turner 18 run (Tucker kick)
B – Carr 28 pass from Dockery (Malik kick)
Second quarter
S – Patron 7 run (kick failed)
B – Carr 76 fumble return (kick failed)
S – Pierce 67 pass from Turner (Tucker kick)
Third quarter
S – Safety. Punter knee touches ground in end zone.
Fourth quarter
S – Pierce 6 pass from Turner (Tucker kick)
S – Pierce 16 pass from Turner (Tucker kick)
Brut Smith
First downs; 5, 14
Rushes-yards; 39-77, 42-152
Passing yards; 53, 178
Comp-att-int; 4-16-2, 12-25-1
Penalties-yards; 6-41, 5-40
Punts-avg; 5-30, 4-28
Fumbles-lost; 1-1, 2-1
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