After a devastating loss at the Providence Bowl in September, RBHS football suffered another one for a second time to Hickman High School. This time the Bruins fell to the Kewpies 7-10 at the district playoff game tonight, which had become known as the “Providence Bowl Rematch.”
The redemption-seeking Bruins kicked-off to the Kewpies on the HHS field at 7 p.m., but it was a Kewpie kick that ended the game two and a half hours later in overtime.
Neither team scored during the first half of the game, during which they traded penalties and time-outs. While the Bruins came close to scoring at the end of the third quarter, it wasn’t until the fourth quarter, with 11:53 left on the game clock, that RBHS made the first touchdown and field goal of the game. For a solid 11 minutes, the Bruins led the Kewpies 7-0.
Fans on both sides of the stadium tried to scream their team to victory. RBHS held a strong defense for the remainder of the quarter. However, despite the roaring of green and gold fans from a crammed student section and the effort put forth by the Bruins, HHS scored a touchdown and field goal with 53 seconds left in the game, tying the score and sending the teams into overtime.
In accordance with high school overtime protocol, both the Bruins and the Kewpies received a chance at an offensive run starting on the 45-yard line. HHS made their move first, making a field goal which put them ahead of RBHS by three points.
RBHS started their offensive play strong, moving in on the end zone. However, when sophomore quarterback Logan Twehouse threw the ball in an attempt for the winning pass, the Kewpies intercepted, officially ending the game 10-7 and ending the RBHS 2012 football season.
Although the Bruins felt the sting of the loss, crying as they stepped off the field, junior Brayden Parker said the season has had its shares of good times that are not to be forgotten, despite the season finale.
“Nothing’s going to help how we feel right now because obviously we just lost another big one,” Parker said, tears running down his face. “But despite that, we can’t discount the rest of the season. You can’t discount the hard work that we’ve been putting in for a long time; you can’t discount the friendships that were made this season; you can’t discount the relationships that will stay with us for the rest of our lives. Yeah, the score will stick with us, but so will the good feelings that we’ve had. … So, sure right now it’s tough, but it will get better with time. We’ve got to keep on keeping on, and we’ll move on.”
By Alyssa Sykuta