Brush falls to Berthoud in 2 OT, 22-21

Spartans’ successful 2-point conversion seals the game

Tuesday night’s football game between Brush and Berthoud had all of the makings of a feel-good win.

Unfortunately, it was the Spartans who ended up feeling good in the end.

The Spartans scored on a 7-yard touchdown pass in double overtime, opted to go for 2, and succeeded, resulting in a 22-21 2OT victory for Berthoud.

The Beetdiggers (1-2) got on the board first with a huge special teams play. Cesar Hinojos rushed in to block a Spartans punt, scooped up the ball, and walked into the end zone for a touchdown. After the extra point, the game was 7-0 Brush.

Berthoud answered back on the ensuing drive with a 2-yard touchdown run by Tanner Cobble. The Spartans went for 2 and got it, making the score 8-7 with 3:23 left in the first quarter.

It only took Brush four plays to respond as Kyle Wellen took the ball down the right side and rumbled 56-yards down the field for a touchdown. The ensuing extra point was good to give the Beetdiggers a 14-8 lead with 1:32 remaining in the first.

The Beetdigger defense held up strong in the second quarter, coming up with a goal line stand and an interception by Kaden Schwindt. The offense couldn’t add any points, however, as a fumble by Wellen and two interceptions by Alejandro MaltosGarcia kept things scoreless in the second quarter. That left the game 14-8 Brush at halftime.

Wellen lost his second fumble of the night on Brush’s first possession of the third quarter. That gave Berthoud the ball deep in Brush territory, and the Spartans ultimately capitalized on a 7-yard touchdown pass. The Beetdiggers stuffed Berthoud on the 2-point conversion attempt, however, leaving the game tied at 14-14 with 1:52 left in the third.

In the fourth quarter, Brush’s turnover issues continued as they added another lost fumble. The Beetdiggers got their due, however, when Ty Griffith made a nice interception to give Brush the ball with under 3 minutes to go in the game. Unfortunately, they couldn’t get any points out of the next possession and the game eventually went to overtime with the score 14-14.

Griffith came up huge again in the first overtime, intercepting Berthoud quarterback Tristan Youngblood on the first play to give Brush the ball. All the Beetdiggers needed was a score to end it.

Sadly, kicker Eric Rish, who’d been excellent all year and all night, had his 20-yard field goal attempt on fourth down blocked, sending the game to double overtime.

In 2OT, it was MaltosGarcia who made a big play. The senior quarterback ran the ball in from 5 yards out to score a touchdown. Rish’s extra point was good to make the game 21-14 Brush.

However, Berthoud got another opportunity to score, and score they did on Youngblood’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Cooper Hidalgo to pull within one point. The Spartans’ 2-point conversion was good, sending the Beetdiggers home with a loss.