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John Marshall spoils Brooke’s homecoming

Brooke's Aaron Scipio rushes against John Marshall on Friday. (Contributed)

WELLSBURG — Before Friday night’s battle against rival John Marshall, Brooke coach Mac McLean felt like the Monarchs might just come out and hammer the ball at his team all night long.

Unfortunately, knowing what the other team is planning doesn’t always mean that one can do anything about it.

Senior Chas McCool ran for 161 yards and five touchdowns, while junior Justin Frohnapfel added another 143 and a score as John Marshall ran the ball 51 times for 368 in racing to a 42-14 victory over the Bruins, spoiling homecoming on Paul “Bud” Billiard Field inside Brooke Memorial Stadium.

Coach Jason Willis’ Monarchs picked up their second consecutive convincing triumph and improve to 5-2 heading into a big trip to Morgantown next Friday night. Meanwhile, Brooke remains winless in seven outings.

After shutting down the Bruins’ best drive of the first half on downs, John Marshall started the scoring with a six-play, 65-yard march. It actually looked like Brooke had forced a three-and-out, however, a personal foul on third-and-8 kept the drive alive.

Four plays later, McCool went off the left side for 15 yards and the score at 6:28. Ethan Gray’s PAT made it a 7-0 start.

The Monarchs’ second scoring drive began in the opening quarter and finished in the second, capping an 11-play, 56-yard drive. Again, it was one play that kept the drive alive and cost Brooke. On fourth-and-9 from the Bruins 18, quarterback Jordan Wood lobbed a pass toward the sideline that Frohnapfel hauled in before going out of bounds at the one.

Frohnapfel gobbled up that final yard one play later on a burst up the middle at 10:01 to push the score to 14-0.

John Marshall closed the first-half scoring with 3:27 showing with another 10-play march. The Monarchs had four plays of 9 yards or more on the drive with McCool’s second score, this one from 5 yards out, making it 21-0.

The Monarchs, who also missed a 36-yard field goal late in the half, out-gained their hosts by a 272-87 margin during the first two quarters.

It was good and bad news for John Marshall coming out in the third. After gaining 143 yards on the ground, Frohnapfel was injured on the second play of the quarter and never returned.

In his absence, McCool took over, including a 38-yard burst to cap the first drive of the half that made it 28-0.

Later in the third quarter, the Bruins scored just their third offensive touchdown at home this season, with Gage Yost launching a long pass down the home sideline that was hauled in by Logan Williams for a 37-yard scoring strike. Mason Thompson’s PAT cut the deficit to 28-7.

McCool’s fourth touchdown, this one coming from 12 yards out with 33 seconds showing in the third, once again extended the margin to 28 points.

It took 20 seconds for John Marshall to add to the lead and McCool to hit the end zone for the fifth time. That 5-yard run came one play after Reid Wiley’s 35-yard interception return on the first play following the Monarchs’ previous score.

Brooke also added a touchdown with 6:58 to go when Yost found Williams for the second time, this time from 15 yards away, with the point-after trimming the count to 42-14.

“The guys were physical up front, and our backs ran like they have been running all season,” Willis said. “And, we were able to throw the ball a little also after working on our timing during the bye week.

“Penalties put us behind the sticks in the first half, so there is some things we need to clean up in that regard. But, overall, it’s nice to get a road win against a rival with some big ones still in front of us. It doesn’t matter what Brooke’s record is, it’s always nice to beat them.”

McLean’s team didn’t get a victory, but it did show improvement in spots.

“That first half could have been different if not for about three plays,” McLean said. “They got a big gainer on a fourth down wheel route that led to a score and a huge penalty on us led to another score.

“It’s been a difficult season, and there have been plenty of tough lessons to learn. But, there have been some positives as well. But, the community wants wins, not positives, and that is what we are here to try and do. I am happy with some of the areas that we improved in, but definitely not with the result.”

John Marshall 42, Brooke 14

John Marshall 7 14 21 0 — 42

Brooke 0 0 7 7 — 14

J — McCool 15 run (Gray kick), 6:28

J — Frohnapfel 1 run (Gray kick), 10:01

J — McCool 2 run (Gray kick), 3:27

J — McCool 38 run (Gray kick), 10:22

B — Williams 37 pass from Yost (Thompson kick), 4:55

J — McCool 12 run (Gray kick), :33

J — McCool 5 run (Gray kick), :13

B — Williams 15 pass from Yost (Thompson kick), 6:58

Rushing: John Marshall 51-368-6 (Frohnapfel 19-143-1, McCool 14-161-5, Wood 2-(-1), Davis 1-0, Flowers 7-36, Burton 3-13, Costello 2-11, Armstrong 1-9, Mason 1-4, Hill 1-(-8)). Brooke 23-78 (Camilletti 16-75, Yost 4-3, George 1-(-4), Harris 2-4).

Passing: John Marshall 6-14-1020-0 (all by Wood). Brooke 13-35-176-2-2 (all by Yost).

Receiving: John Marshall 6-102 (Rayl 3-57, Frohanpfel 1-17, Wiley 1-11, McCool 1-17). Brooke 13-176-2 (Rasz 6-68, Bates 2-16, Williams 5-92-2).

First Downs: John Marshall 19, Brooke 13.

Penalties: John Marshall 7-65, Brooke 8-65.

Fumbles: John Marshall 0-0, Brooke 0-0.

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