In the final game of the regular season, RBHS lost 28-30 at home against Francis Howell High School (FHHS) Friday, Oct. 20.
The game began with a long drive for FHHS, taking the ball into RBHS territory. A couple failed running plays later, the Vikings were held to a third and goal where an errant snap sent the quarterback running for the ball. After recovering, the FHHS quarterback fired a pass in for a touchdown, putting the Bruins in an early 0-7 hole.
Junior quarterback Brady Davidson has been working all year with the wide receiving corps, and after some miscommunications and dropped passes earlier in the season, Davidson said that everything is starting to click for the offense.
“We fought really hard coming into this game,” Davidson said. “We knew it was going to be a close one and just throughout the entire game we were all fighting and playing together. There was no division, we were all just playing.”
On the Bruins responding drive, a long run for a touchdown by senior running back Cooper Myers was called back by an illegal formation call, and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the play pushed the line of scrimmage back further. A couple plays and a punt later, FHHS had the ball, and after a late hit penalty called on RBHS, the Vikings were on the Bruin half of the field. An 11-yard run in the red zone powered FHHS through for a touchdown soon after, giving them a 14-0 lead. Head coach Matt Perkins said that he felt the Bruins “kind of beat [themselves] with penalties and not taking care of little things,” echoing the sentiments of players and coaches across the season. Perkins also said he was proud of the team and the way they have played all season.
“Our linebacker play has been phenomenal,” Perkins said. “Our defense in general has been phenomenal. [FHHS] is a really good football team. They’re really well coached and they do a lot of things well, but I thought [RBHS] was the most physical team and I’m really proud of that.”
On the Bruins’ second possession, a long kick return by Myers ran it back to the FHHS 28-yard line. On the first play of the second quarter, Myers ran the ball in for the first RBHS touchdown of the night. FHHS’ next possession ended quickly after multiple incomplete passes and a stuffed run, returning the ball to the Bruins. A long connection from Davidson to junior receiver Devin Holt put RBHS well into Vikings territory, where a series of run plays set up a fourth and three in the red zone. The Bruins converted on the fourth and followed the play with a second touchdown run for Myers, knotting the score at 14-14 entering the half. In order to beat good teams, you have to be the most physical team, and our kids stepped up to that challenge. That was our focus all week. Hopefully more of that will come from our guys.” — Head coach Matt Perkins
RBHS received the kick off out of the half, and proceeded to run the ball for almost the entirety of the drive. Behind the RBHS blocking scheme, the Bruins ran Myers down to the FHHS red zone and then into the end zone for his third touchdown of the night, allowing RBHS their first lead against the 2022 class-five state champions.
“[FHHS is] always good,” Davidson said. “We just knew that we had to work every day to get better and better coming up to the game, and we fought more than we thought we would and just enjoyed playing as a team. That’s all we needed to do.”
FHHS responded with a drive of their own, leaning on a dominant run game to power over the Bruins’ defensive line and work their way into the endzone once again, tying the game at 21 each.
On the following drive, a three and out for the Bruins gave FHHS possession, and senior linebacker Elijah Morton scooped and scored a Vikings’ fumble, returning the lead to RBHS by the end of the third quarter.
Returning to the run game, FHHS leaned heavily into quarterback runs and handoffs to march back down the field for their fourth touchdown of the night, rendering the score 28-28.
After a Bruin three and out, the defense was given another opportunity to stop the Vikings, which they did successfully with a sack on third down. FHHS then muffed the snap for the second time on the night, only to recover the ball and send an awkward punt bouncing down field into RBHS territory. The ball ended up on the Bruin three-yard line, where the offense was brought back onto the field.
The play call was a hand off and a run to Myers up the middle to give Davidson more room for a second down play. The Vikings then jumped a block and the run in the backfield stalled, leading to a Bruins safety, giving FHHS two points and returning them the ball.
“They just chased it from behind and made a nice play,” Perkins said. “The play from the backfield took a little too long to develop and we kind of ran it almost like a read option, and that’s not what it was.”
The Bruin defense prevented the Vikings from scoring on their subsequent possession, forcing another punt. With a dwindling clock, RBHS ran and passed back down to the visiting red zone, where they ran the clock to three seconds and brought out the kicking unit. Senior kicker Joey Scardina lined up for the kick, where the Vikings called two timeouts before the play began.
Many RBHS students gathered near the gates at the track in preparation to rush the field in expectation that the kick went through, and the Bruins would walk it off with a field goal. But when the ball was snapped, a Viking defender broke through the line, blocking the kick with an outstretched hand and ending the game with a 28-30 RBHS defeat.
“In order to beat good teams, you have to be the most physical team, and our kids stepped up to that challenge,” Perkins said. “That was our focus all week. Hopefully more of that will come from our guys.”
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