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TORONTO – The Toronto defense made one final stand to win the game.
Leading Brookfield by one point, Toronto came up with six-straight stops enabling the Red Knights to hold on and defeat the Warriors, 7-6, Friday night on Clarke Hinkle Field.
“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Toronto (3-0) head coach Jaret Aubiel said. “We challenged them all well. We gave up one-big play, but other than that they were rock solid and we were able to come away with the win.”
Brookfield scored a touchdown with 1:17 left in the first half to pull within one point, however, the Red Knights stopped the 2-point attempt keeping themselves in the lead. The Warriors got the ball back late in the half and drove down to the 30, however, Max Rebich intercepted a pass in the end zone on the final play of the first half to keep his team out in front.
In the second half, the Warriors (2-1) drove down inside the Red Knights’ 15 on back-to-back drives, however, the Toronto defense rose to the occasion and stopped Brookfield on two fourth-down plays keeping the Red Knights out in front.
On the first drive of the third, the Warriors moved the ball down to the Red Knight 13, however, senior defensive lineman Christian Briggs batted the ball down to turn it over back to Toronto. Following a Toronto punt, Brookfield took over at the Red Knights’ 34. The Warriors drove down to the 11, however, a fourth-down pass into the endzone fell incomplete giving the ball back to the boys from the Gem City.
On the ensuing drive, a big run by Drake Brouscher took the ball down to the Brookfield 35, however, the Toronto drive stalled there and the Red Knights were once again forced to punt.
Brookfield took possession of the ball, but a big sack by Bouscher on third down resulted in the Warriors having to punt the ball back to the Red Knights. Toronto attempted to run out the clock, however, the Warriors stood tall on defense and forced another punt by the Red Knights.
Brookfield had one final chance to drive down and win the game, and the Warriors once again moved the ball into Toronto territory. The game came down to another four down as the visitors faced 4th-and-5 at the Red Knights 47. The fourth-down pass was complete, however, the Toronto defense knocked the runner out of bounds short of the marker turning the ball over to the Red Knights at their own 43.
The victors were able to run out the clock from that point.
“Our defense has a good mix of speed and physicality, and they showed that tonight,” Aubiel said. “For the second week in a row, our kids buckeled down when it mattered the most, and we were able to get the win.”
Following a Red Knight punt, the Warriors appeared to strike first as quarterback Jaxon Bayus hooked up with wide receiver Brody Smith on a 67-yard catch and run resulting in an apparent touchdown, however, Brookfield was called for a penalty on the play wiping away the touchdown and moving the ball back to its 28.
The visitors faced a 4th-and-6 at the Toronto 47, and they elected to go for it. This time, a penalty worked out in their favor as the hosts were called for pass interference giving the Warriors a first down and moving the ball down to the 32. The boys in white faced a 4th-and-1 at the 23, but the Toronto defense rose to the occasion and stuffed running back Robbie Flynn in the backfield resulting in a 2-yard loss giving the ball back to the boys from Jefferson County.
The locals were unable to get anything going offensively, and they punted the ball back to Brookfield. After a run lost 4 yards on first down, the Red Knights stripped the ball loose resulting in a fumble, and Briggs picked up the ball and rumbled down to the 24.
On the next play, Rebich lofted a pass to tight end Brody Close for a 24-yard touchdown to put the boys in the red jerseys out in front, 6-0. Kicker DJ Manley came on and split the uprights with his extra point to extend Toronto’s advantage out to 7-0 with 1:55 remaining to be played in the first quarter.
“We checked the play call at the line, and that is how it worked out,” Aubiel said.
Teams tend to try to go for a big play on offense following a turnover on defense.
“Absolutely,” Aubiel said. “We made the call, and we took advantage of the opportunity. It was a good thing we did.”
The boys from Trumbull County punted on its next possession, and the home team took over possession of the football at their own 16. The Red-and-White moved the ball down to the Brookfield 39, where they faced a 4th-and-11 situation. The Red Knights opted to go for it, however, Rebich was forced to run, and the junior was stripped of the ball and the Warriors recovered at their 39.
Facing 3rd-and-7 at the Toronto 47, Bayus broke through the Red Knight defense on his way for a 42-yard scamper bringing the ball all the way down to the 5. Two plays later, Flynn found his way into the endzone to pull the Warriors to within 7-6. Smith came out for the PAT, however, the Red Knights were penalized for being offside, resulting in Brookfield opting to go for 2 instead. The Warriors tried to run it in, however, Toronto’s defense stood tall once again and stopped Brookfield short of the endzone keeping the score at 7-6 with 1:17 left to play in the first half.
The Warriors used a lot of shifting, motion and misdirection on offense, however, the Red Knights were able to come up with key stops throughout the game.
“That was a challenge for us,” Aubiel said. “We did not want to get pinned inside on their sweeps. They do a good job of getting outside. We did enough on defense, and we were able to find a way to win the game.”
The Red Knights attempted to drive down the field for another score before the half handed, and things were looking good when Colt Joynson leaped up and snagged a 26-yard reception from Rebich to advance the ball to the Toronto 47. Unfortunately, the drive stalled, and the Red Knights were forced to punt the ball away.
The Warriors took over at their own 25, and two running plays moved the ball out to the 47. With 8 seconds left, tight end Cruz Torres found himself open, and the senior was knocked out of bounds at the Toronto 30 resulting in a 23-yard play. There was 1 second still showing on the scoreboard clock, however, Rebich intercepted Brookfield’s Hail Mary attempt in the end zone enabling his team to take a one-point lead into the locker room at halftime.
“It was a dogfight from beginning to end,” Aubiel said.
Toronto is set to renew its longtime rivalry with Catholic Central at 7 p.m. Friday night at home.
“We’re really excited to have Catholic Central back on the schedule,” Aubiel said. “This game means a lot to us, and it means a lot to them. We are super excited about having the opportunity to play this game.”
Brookfield is slated to play Friday night at Champion.