GAME OF THE WEEK
BRAWLEY — In the first-ever meeting between the two schools, the Brawley Union High School Wildcat football team rose to the occasion against a talented Yuma Catholic High Shamrocks squad, defeating them 41-20 at Warne Field here Friday night.
The Wildcats may have made a bit of local history with the win as they may have become the first Imperial Valley team to defeat the perennial Arizona powerhouse Shamrocks.
“This was just a great team effort, one of the goals coming into the game was to play like a team, and we did,” said Brawley coach Jon Self. “They are a good team with the ability to strike quickly, but everyone, especially on defense, played up to their full ability.”
Yuma took the opening kickoff but their high-octane passing game fell early prey to the Wildcat secondary intercepted the ball.
Brawley senior quarterback Casey Kline then capped off the ensuing drive with a 24-yard touchdown run, and two minutes into the game Brawley led 7-0.
Brawley again intercepted Yuma Catholic late in the first quarter, and again Kline finished off the drive with a 21 yard touchdown run to put the Cats up 13-0.
“I know what I can do as a runner, but defenses see a big guy and don’t think I’m a physical runner, but I am,” Kline said.
Yuma Catholic then forced a Brawley fumble and quickly scored to make it a 13-7 Brawley game at half time.
Brawley recovered the Shamrocks on-side kick attempt to open the second half and drove 54 yards to score, with Michael Moreno gaining the last 2 yards and Kline running in the two-point conversion to give the Wildcats a 21-7 lead.
“The O-line gets better and better each week, and tonight they were opening up holes everywhere,” Moreno said.
Yuma Catholic then answered with a scoring drive of their own to make it a one-score game at 21-14 in the third quarter.
Brawley then dominated the fourth quarter, scoring three touchdowns in seven minutes to put the game out of reach.
Kline was the first Wildcat to find the end zone in the fourth quarter on a 4-yard touchdown run that culminated an 80-yard drive.
Kline is also a key part of the Brawley defense at inside linebacker, and he credited his fellow defenders with controlling the Yuma Catholic offense.
“We emphasized to our defensive line that they would make or break us, and they led the charge,” Kline said. “We thought we could rattle their quarterback, and we did. … We felt this was our biggest non-league game, and we wanted it bad.”
Junior fullback Blake Krigbaum, on for Moreno, proved to be a capable runner himself, scoring on a 14-yard touchdown run.
The Wildcats then stopped Yuma Catholic on a fourth-down play, and Moreno returned to the offense to score on a 4-yard run to give Brawley a commanding 41-14 lead with 3:34 left in the game.
“They were physical for the most part, but we got energy in the second half,” Moreno said. “We knew we needed to play hard all four quarters, and if we scored, they would wind down.”
Unofficially, the Wildcats were credited with 445 yards of total offense, 410 of it on the ground as Kline carried 18 times for 107 yards while Moreno added 167 on 29 carries.
Self, like Moreno, credited the work of Brawley’s offensive line.
“Our offensive line played well again,” Self said. “They are the hinge-pin of our offense. … They just got out there and knocked people off the ball.”
Brawley (3-1) finishes non-league play Friday night, hosting the Cibola High Raiders from Yuma at 7 p.m.