Bruton’s Bilal Wallace entered Friday’s Bay Rivers football game against Jamestown with more passing yards than any other quarterback in the district, but the defense and running game were so good Friday the Panthers never needed his arm.
Kapri Doucet ran for 108 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 11 carries and highlighted a lights-out defensive effort as Bruton won its third straight game with a 27-6 victory over host Jamestown on a rainy night at Wanner stadium.
In addition to JMU-bound Doucet, the Panthers also got solid production out of the backfield from sophomore back Elijah Rice (6 carries, 49 yards) and junior Isaiah Williams (9 carries, 53 yards, TD).
“We counted on it to rain tonight and knew we were going to have to run the football,” said Bruton coach Tracy Harrod after the game. “The offensive line did a great job against what we saw as a physical team on tape [Jamestown] is tough to get outside on, so we had to run between the tackles and I thought we did a good job of that tonight.”
The physical battle between area rivals turned chippy in the second half as the two sides combined for more than 200 total penalty yards.
While the Panthers’ defense completely shut down Jamestown’s two-man rushing attack, which forced quarterback Tyler Doane to have to pass more than Eagles’ coach Lee Williams would have liked given the conditions, Jamestown was equally as damaging to itself, especially during the second half. Jamestown committed a total of nine penalties for 125 yards, including a devastating 45-yard swing on one particular third-quarter play when the Eagles trailed by one score.
“We missed a few opportunities in the first half, and I think frustration took over,” Williams said.
Defensive tackle Kyle Machem, who played a great game up front for Bruton, set up the Panthers first touchdown in the first quarter after barreling through offensive line and jarring the ball loose from Jamestown ball carrier Stas Szczepanski. Two plays later, Isaiah Williams ran in the game’s first score from 14 yards out to give Bruton a 7-0 lead.
Jamestown would answer on its ensuing possession after Doane connected with tight end Braxton Miller across the middle for a 26-yard touchdown on fourth-and-nine. The Eagles trailed 7-6 after a missed extra point.
Miller came up with a big defensive play for Jamestown on Bruton’s next possession after picking off a pass at the 40 yard line.
The Eagles put together a nice series as Doane completed passes to three different receivers to move inside Bruton territory, but the drive stalled after a pair of catchable passes were dropped in the end zone before Jamestown turned the ball over on downs.
Bruton would then march downfield and score on 10-straight running plays ending with Wallace’s six-yard touchdown scamper as Bruton stretched its lead to 13-6.
The Panthers would get the ball back after Jamestown fumbled the ensuing kickoff with 1:15 to play in the second quarter, but the Eagles defense made a key stop to keep it a one-possession game at halftime.
After forcing Bruton into a three-and-out on the Panthers’ first offensive possession of the second half, that’s about when the wheels began to fall off for Jamestown.
The Eagles were flagged for roughing the kicker on the punt attempt, including two unsportsmanlike conduct penalties — one of which resulted in an ejection — to give the ball right back to Bruton. So, instead of receiving a punt from the Panthers’ own 33 yard line, Bruton received a first down 45 yards downfield on Jamestown’s 22.
“That was the most costly play of the game for us,” Williams said.
But the costly penalties kept coming.
After Doucet ran in his first of two touchdowns from 20 yards out three plays later to give Bruton a 20-6 lead, Jamestown was flagged for two more 15-yard penalties on the extra-point attempt.
That basically gave Bruton a free shot at an onsides kick attempt, which the Panthers’ Daniel Jones recovered after the ball slipped through the hands of a leaping Jamestown player.
Things continued to get worse for Jamestown.
Trailing 20-6 in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter, Doane’s screen attempt was picked off at the line of scrimmage by Bruton’s Jumanne Brown which set up a five-yard Doucet touchdown on the next play.
The Eagles finally looked to end their scoring drought on their next possession when Doane completed a pass to J.J. Boyd, who appeared to run in the 35-yard touchdown, but the referee whistled the ball popped loose just before Boyd crossed the goal line. The ball rolled out of the back of the end zone, resulting in a touch back for Bruton.
“Not too much went our way there in the second half, but we didn’t help ourselves either,” Williams added.
Bruton 27 Jamestown 6
Bruton- 7 6 7 7 – 27
Jamestown- 6 0 0 0 – 6
First Quarter
Bruton- Williams 14-yard run (McReynolds kick)
Jamestown- Miller 26-yard pass from Doane (kick failed)
Second Quarter
Bruton- 11-yard run (kick blocked)
Third Quarter
Bruton- Doucet 20-yard run (McReynolds kicks)
Fourth Quarter
Bruton- Doucet 5-yard run (McReynolds kick)
Totals
Bru; Jam
First downs: 21; 14
Rushes-yards: 45-225; 19-67
Passing yards: 0; 171
Comp-att-Int: 0-3-1; 13-26;1
Penalties-yards: 8-90; 9-125
fumbles-lost: 3-2; 4-2
Individual standouts:
Bruton
Doucet- 11 rush, 108 yards, 2 TD
Williams- 9 rush, 53 yards, TD
Jamestown
Doane- 13-26, 171 yards, TD, INT
