In a game marred by turnovers, big plays and sudden downpours, Brantley managed to clip the Goshen Eagles 34-0 in last Friday’s non-region play.

“Real good ball team we played tonight, that’s all I can say,” Goshen head coach Bart Snyder said.

The Goshen defense stoned the Brantley running game all night, holding the Bulldogs to 5 yards on the ground in the first half and 45 yards in the game.

But it was the passing game that killed the Eagles, leading to big plays and, ultimately, touchdowns.

Bulldog sophomore quarterback Jacob Free was 11-of-14 passing in the game for 204 yards and two touchdowns.

Brantley excelled in all facets of the game Friday night. But, head coach Ashley Kilcrease would have liked a stronger show, offensively.

“We did real good on defense, but didn’t play to good on offense,” he said. “They did a good job at stopping us from running the ball.”

Kilcrease was happy with the whole defensive line. He cited Doug Salter as a standout. The senior left a mark on both sides of the ball.

Late in the second quarter, Brantley linebacker Malik Stough blasted through the Goshen offensive line, blocked a Daniel Macias punt and then scooped it up and scored, putting the Bulldogs up 13-0 just before halftime.

And after adding a late 30-yard field goal with seconds to go before the half, Brantley entered the locker room with a 16-0 lead over Goshen.

The second half kickoff was preceded by a sudden downpour that emptied the stands and lasted throughout much of the third quarter.

With the turf and football soaked, Goshen fumbled the ball three times in the third quarter, turning one of those over to Brantley.

The Brantley defense was equally dominant against the Goshen offense, allowing the Eagles just 66 yards of total offense.

Brantley scored 18 points in the second half to ice the game.

“Our guys played their hearts out in the first half,” Snyder said. “We had to make some changes after half, but I’ll tell you we have a young group of guys who played a very good team in Brantley ball team to 16-0 going into halftime. They’re (Brantley) good. We can’t take anything away from that.”

The Bulldogs will host fourth-seed Loachapoka High School (3-6, 2-3) for Friday’s first round of the playoffs.

“We’ve faced them in playoffs a few times,” said Kilcrease. “They’re going to be a physical team. But, I think we’ve got a shot.”

 

Luverne Journal editor Mona Moore contributed to this report.