Late game flurry ends with Brawley holding the Bell
EL CENTRO — The 78th renewal of the Bell Game displayed a the attributes of what a rivalry game should have.
There was a packed stadium, outstanding play by both teams and despite a final score of the Brawley Union High Wildcats 34, the Central Union High Spartans 21, it was a tight, action-packed game down to the last play.
“Just another classic Bell Game,” said Brawley Head Coach Jon Self. “I think we started out over-hyped and we made mistakes, but everybody stepped up when they needed to.”
“They did a good job of pursuit and a game plan,” said Central Head Coach David Peña. “We were never out of it — it’s just how we are built — and we never gave up because we can be explosive and we had time to get back in it.”
Central won the coin toss and deferred, electing to kick off to start the game and receive the second-half kickoff, a strategy that most teams utilize to get a defensive stop and carry momentum into the second half.
It did not quite work out that way for Central, as Brawley immediately marched 65 yards on seven plays to take a 7-0 lead four minutes into the game.
Key to the drive was the Wildcats’ ability to rush the ball, with Brawley senior Isaiah Young gaining 36 yards on three carries, the last one going 9 yards for the touchdown.
Central began their first possession with great field position at their 41-yard line. Ten plays and three Brawley penalties later, the Spartans were at the Brawley 19.
Central junior quarterback Damian Rodriguez then was hit and fumbled, and Brawley’s Anthony Arriga recovered the ball.
Brawley junior quarterback Ethan Gutierrez then led the Wildcats into Central territory before being intercepted by the Spartans
Central made short work of converting the turnover into points.
Rodriguez threw a 38yard bomb to set up a 4-yard touchdown run by Charlie Sullivan.
“We practiced that play because we knew it would be one-on-one and he just made a great catch,” said Rodriguez.
Central’s converted the PAT to tie the game at 7-7 with 11:56 remaining in the second quarter.
Following the Central touchdown Brawley failed to convert on fourth down at the Central 18-yard, and then the Wildcat defense forced a Spartan punt that was shanked.
The errant punt put Brawley on the Central 37yard line, but three plays later Gutierrez threw his second interception of the game.
Central again was forced to punt and Brawley took possession on the Central 41-yard, but a Gutierrez fumble quickly ended the drive.
Two minutes, nine plays and three penalties later, Central scored again. The PAT went wide right, so the Spartans took a 13-7 lead into halftime.
Central received the second half kickoff and went three plays and out.
“Coming into the third quarter we just weren’t clicking on offense,” Rodriguez said. “I had a couple of misreads and at other times I was pressured.”
Halftime in the Brawley locker room was dedicated to eliminating mistakes and playing hard.
“Everyone was hyped. We wanted the Bell back, our safeties and corners were hitting,” said Brawley sophomore linebacker Robert Platt. “They got a couple of big plays on us, but I felt that if we kept our heads up and played hard on defense, our offense would get points.”
A personal foul penalty put the Wildcats back to their own 12-yard line to start what would be a game-changing drive covering 88 yards in 17 plays and taking 11 minutes. It ended with the Wildcats reclaiming a lead they would never relinquish.
The drive began with five straight running plays, with Gutierrez getting 27 yards and Young 12. Those were followed by three short passes before the drive stalled with a fourth and 1 at the Central 47.
In the first of two gutsy fourth-down play calls, Brawley gave the ball to Young, who pushed his way through what looked like the entire Central defense to get the first down.
“Having the bye last week helped me get some of my power back,” said Young who had been nursing nagging injuries the past few games. “I knew they were waiting for me and the yards were tough to come by, but I wanted to get there, even just
1 yard if that’s what we needed.”
Five plays later, it was fourth and 2 at the Spartan 17-yard line, and this time Gutierrez read the blitz and hit tight end Platt for exactly the 2 yards.
“We had been practicing a play if they blitz,” Platt said. “We audibled to it, and I just went 2 yards and waited for the ball. That’s what our offense is about, making them try to defend a lot of things.”
Young would score three plays later on a 4-yard run and senior placekicker Jorge Haro’s PAT gave Brawley a 14-13 lead.
Credit the Brawley offensive line of center Brian Porras, guards Levanglist Pittman and Jonathan Garcia and tackles Arriaga and Julius Diaz for controlling the line-of-scrimmage.
“We’re the backbone of the team. If we do our jobs, we will win,” said Porras, the only returning starter from the spring football season. “Near the end of that drive, we were all getting tired. They kept putting in new guys, and we were cramping, and we knew we were in a dogfight.”
“It had to be one of the best line performances in a Bell Game in awhile,”
Self said. “But, really, it was a great performances by everybody. That’s what it takes to win a game like this.”
The 14-13 Brawley lead reflected the Calpreps.com pregame prediction that Brawley would win by one point, and it looked that way until the two teams scored four touchdowns in the last four minutes of the game.
With 4:20 seconds left in the game, Young burst through the Central defense for a 35-yard touchdown run to give the Wildcats a 21-13 advantage.
The Brawley defense then forced Rodriguez into four incomplete passes, turning the ball over to the Wildcat offense at the Central 39-yard line.
On the first play, Young went off right tackle and outran the Spartan defense for a touchdown, upping Brawley’s lead to 28-13 after Haro’s PAT.
Central’s Rodriguez immediately went to work, connecting on passes to wide receivers Skylar Cook and Arturo Estrada before finding Sullivan in the end zone with a 14-yard pass.
“We have a high-power offense and look for the big play.” Pena said. “But their secondary did well, and we needed to adjust to them better and we didn’t.”
Rodriguez then hit Sullivan with a two-point conversion pass to cut Brawley’s lead to 28-21 with just 3:38 left in the game.
Central attempted an onside kick, but Brawley’s Gilbert Corrales caught in returned it to the Central 20-yard line.
“I was a little scared because it was so important, but then the ball popped up and I caught it and it was open and I wanted to score a touchdown,” Corrales said.
With time running out and Brawley needing a first down to ice the game, Gutierrez ran a fourthand-6 play, zigging and zagging around the field before ending up in the end zone for a touchdown.
For Brawley (8-2, 4-0 IVL), the Victory Bell returns to the north end, and the Wildcats claim their first Imperial Valley League title in four years.
The Wildcats will open the CIF-San Diego Section Division III playoffs Friday hosting Westview High of Poway at Warne Field.
Central (5-5, 4, 3-1
IVL) is seeded 10th in the Division II playoffs. The Spartans will travel to play seventh-ranked Otay Ranch High School in Chula Vista.
“It’s time to regroup and get going, and we feel good about the playoffs,” Peña said. “We had a tremendous schedule this season, which made us better and got us ready to compete at this level.”