FRANKLIN – He joined the team just three weeks ago and he can only make it to about half the practices, because soccer has to remain his top priority. But none of that has stopped Bryce Johnson from earning the trust of Bishop Brady quarterback Patrick Brust.
When the Green Giants (4-2) needed a play in the last seconds of the first half on Saturday against Franklin, Brust looked for Johnson, the Brady soccer goalie who is now doubling as a wide receiver. When the Giants were looking to put the game away late in the fourth, Brust again showed his faith in Johnson, whose best sport is probably basketball.
By the end of Brady’s 26-16 win over the Golden Tornadoes (2-4), Brust was 28-for-49 for 347 yards and four touchdowns. And 161 of those yards belonged to Johnson, who finished with nine catches and two touchdowns.
“Bryce had some clutch catches,” Brust said. “When we needed him, he came through.”
Brust was talking about Saturday’s game, but he could have been talking about Johnson joining the team in the first place.
“He knew our numbers were low and saw our seniors getting injured and he decided he wanted to step in and help out,” Brady Coach Matt Shaw said of Johnson.
The help came just in time for the Giants, who were coming off an 81-9 loss to undefeated Campbell, but remained in the Division III playoff hunt with Saturday’s win.
“This got us back on track,” Brust said.
Franklin could have pushed itself into that playoff picture with a win against Brady, so the loss was tough on the Tornadoes. Still, Franklin Coach Jeff Davis was upbeat after the game.
“We played four quarters, and that’s something that we’ve been trying to accomplish all year long,” Davis said. “They played with a lot of heart, a lot of soul, and they never gave up.”
That fight was evident from the start. Brady drove to the Tornadoes’ 11 on the game’s first possession, but that’s where Franklin’s Ben LaFrance forced a fumble that teammate Emilio Crawford recovered.
It was a fitting start for what turned out to be a sloppy first half from both sides. Brust came up with an interception of Franklin quarterback Caleb Vigue (5-for-10, 40 yards, interception). CJ Gaslin recovered a Johnson fumble. Big Kyle Lavoy (four passes defended) was swatting down Brust passes before they could get past the line of scrimmage. Brady’s Scott Franklin (three sacks) and Chase Buckman (two tackles for a loss) were causing havoc in the Franklin backfield.
The Giants finally sustained a drive at the end of the second quarter. They went 80 yards in 14 plays, the last one a 12-yard touchdown pass from Brust to Johnson with just four seconds left in the half.
“That really changed momentum,” Brust said.
The Tornadoes drove to the Brady 30 to open the second half, but A.J. Cipriano broke up a fourth-down pass attempt to give the Giants the ball. From there, they marched 70 yards in the other direction and upped their lead to 14-0 when Brust connected with Colby Morris (three catches, 25 yards) on fourth-and-goal from the 1-yard line.
That capped an 18-play drive, and the Tornadoes answered with a two-play drive when Kainan Clark (nine carries, 115 yards) broke free for a 73-yard touchdown run to make it 14-8 (Vigue ran for the 2-point conversion) with 1:26 left in the third.
“That was a big spark through the entire team,” Davis said. “You could see the fire in their eyes when they came off the field.”
The Giants, however, responded with some fire of their own. Brust completed four straight passes on the ensuing drive, two to Johnson for a combined 39 yards and the last to an open Ismael Rivera (six catches, 63 yards) in the end zone to give his team a 20-8 lead in the first minute of the fourth quarter.
“I liked our team’s resiliency today,” Shaw said. “We shot ourselves in the foot a few times, especially in the first half, but we kept plugging along even when things weren’t going our way.”
Franklin drove to the Brady 16 on the following possession, but Tom Scott ended the drive with a sack on fourth-and-4. The Giants then put the game out of reach with an 80-yard drive that ended when Brust hung in against a pass rush, took a hit and still delivered a 28-yard touchdown pass to Johnson, who used his full 6-foot-3 frame to take the ball away from a defender.
“(Brust) made a couple great throws today, especially that one to Bryce with two guys in his face,” Shaw said. “He played really well today.”
Franklin kept fighting and cut the lead to 26-14 on a 30-yard touchdown run from Crawford (10 carries, 77 yards) with 1:20 left, but Brady’s Connor Treybig recovered the ensuing onside kick to ice the win.
“Bishop Brady is a good program, it doesn’t matter how many kids they have, they always show up ready to play,” Davis said. “We knew what was at stake for both teams, we knew whoever won this was in good position for that fourth playoff seed. But our kids played hard, that was definitely their best effort all year.”
(Tim O’Sullivan can be reached at 369-3341, tosullivan@cmonitor.com or on Twitter @timosullivan20.)
Bedford 56, Concord 13
Key players: Concord – Zach Miles (2 TD passes), Jacob Knowles (TD catch), Liddon Ling (TD catch)
Highlights/key moments: Bedford took a 42-6 lead into halftime after Miles and Knowles connected for a 49-yard touchdown.
Records: Bedford 4-3; Concord 2-5
St. Thomas 42, H-D/Hopkinton 12
Key players: H-D/Hopkinton – Aidan Horne (TD), Caleb Yianakopolos (TD), Thayer Maughan (punt block)
Highlights/key moments: St. Thomas led 35-0 at the half. Maughan blocked a punt to start the second half, providing a spark before Yianakopolos and Horne found the end zone.
Records: St. Thomas 6-1; H-D/Hopkinton 1-5
Concord’s Matthew Hauschild tied for 13th to lead capital area players at the Division I boys’ individual golf championships at Portsmouth Country Club on Saturday.
Haushchild carded an 83 in the second round for a total of 165. Also from Concord, Sean McDonough (second round 89, total 170) finished in a three-way tie for 20th and Jeremiah Barry (88, 171) placed 23rd.
CJ LaDue of Bedford was the individual champion. After scoring the tournament-low 73 in the first round, LaDue shot a 77 on Saturday to win the championship by one stroke over Nashua North’s Bryce Zimmerman.
Concord placed fifth as a team in the Division I championship on Oct. 10, 19 strokes behind champion Bedford.
Nick Grimbilas of Bishop Brady finished in eighth place at the Division II boys’ individual championship at Rochester Country Club with 81 strokes in the second round for a tournament total 164.
Sam Barton of Kingswood won the title shooting a 75 in the second round for a total of 148, three strokes ahead of the runner-up Phin Choukas of Hanover. Barton set the tournament low with a 72 in the first round.
Ryan Rothdiener of John Stark finished three strokes behind Grimbilas in a two-way tie for 11th with Hanover’s Peter Lukovitis.
Justin Legere of Pembroke shared a tie for 22nd after shooting a 92 on Saturday for a tournament total 177.
Bow and Kearsarge were represented in the top five after the final round of the Division III boys’ individual championship at Owl’s Nest in Thornton.
The Falcons’ Jake Mielcarz aced the 14th hole and placed third after shaving four strokes off his first-round score for a 77 in the second round Sunday. His total was 158 and he qualified for the New England Tournament.
Jake Bears of Kearsarge placed fourth shooting an 83 for a tournament total of 162. Cougar teammate Will Chadwick also shot an 83, two strokes improved from his first round, for 168 and a share of fifth place.
Gunnnar Senatore edged Derryfield teammate Colin McCaigue in a playoff to determine the champion. Senatore and McCaigue played identical rounds, both shooting 80 in the first and 75 in the second.
Bow’s Nate Benoit finished 14th carding a 98 in the second round for a total of 186.
Nick Spicuzza of Inter-Lakes placed 12th and Hopkinton’s Trent Gagnon was 14th at the Division III individual championship at Canterbury Woods.
Spicuzza used 100 strokes in the second round, bringing his tournament total to 191. Gagnon shot 117 for a total of 206.
Braxton Brown of White Mountains was the champion. Brown took three strokes off his first round using 78 in the second for a total of 159, four strokes ahead of the runner-up Anthony Andronaco of Mascenic.
Pittsfield 4, Hinsdale 1
Key players: Pittsfield – Emily Thompson (2 goals, 2 assists), Katie Rollins (2 goals, assist), Kira Wood (assist), Kylee Morel (defense), Meredith Smith (strong play)
Highlights/key moments: Thompson scored twice and Rollins scored her first in the opening half. Pittsfield had 19 shots, 12 on goal.
Coach’s quote: “It was senior day and the girls went out and executed as planned. We need to carry over the same intensity and play into our next two games to finish out the season.” – Pittsfield’s Jayme Kennedy
Records: Pittsfield 9-5; Hinsdale 5-10
Pittsfield 6, Hinsdale 1
Key players: Pittsfield – Cameron Darrah (2 goals, 3 assists), Matt St. George (2 goals), Garrett Guerrero-Hadley (goal, assist), Weston LeMay (goal)
Highlights/key moments: Pittsfield took a 5-0 lead into halftime. The Panthers scored five goals between the 23rd and 38th minutes.
Coach’s quote: “The boys came out ready to play and did a good job of controlling possession and creating scoring opportunities. Hopefully we can carry the momentum into next week and beyond.” – Pittsfield’s Derek Hamilton
Records: Pittsfield 9-6; Hinsdale 2-13
Concord first, Coe-Brown fifth
Key players:Concord – Forest Mackenzie (2nd, 15:29), Eli Boesch-Dining (5th, 15:35), Oliver Spencer (13th, 15:53), Matt O’Brien (16th, 15:56), David Cook (25th, 16:13); Coe-Brown – Evan Tanguay (4th, 15:32), Luke Tkaczyk (33rd, 16:22), Wyatt Mackey (37th, 16:26), Dawson Dubois (44th, 16:40), Gavyn Lewis (45th, 16:43)
Highlights/key moments: The Tide had four runners run the 5K course at Brown University in under 16 minutes to win the prestigious Brown Invitational against elite teams in the northeast. Concord’s average time of its top five runners was a blistering 15:49, as the Tide became just the second NH team to ever win the event. Londonderry won in 2004. Coe-Brown finished fifth, topping rival Oyster River (sixth) and Londonderry (seventh).
Coach’s quote: “At the beginning of the season we said that Brown would be the first meet we would expect to run fast. Our results are a clear result of working towards that goal.” – Concord’s Tristan Black-Ingersoll
John Stark third, Hopkinton sixth
Key players:John Stark – Brandon Langdon (1st, 17:04), Collin Astholz (15th, 18:29), Jack Hagan (17th, 18:45), Owen Payeur (25th, 19:54), Marcus McFall (26th, 20:09); Hopkinton – Joe Tierney (14th, 18:25), Shepyrd Murdough (22nd, 19:15), Simon Page (23rd, 19:15), Hayden Lynch (36th, 20:34), Noah Lewis (39th, 20:45)
Highlights/key moments: Langdon won the nine-team Pelham Invitational, leading the Generals to third place. Sanborn (43), Souhegan (47) and John Stark (84) were the top-three team scores. The D-III Hawks (134) finished sixth in a field of mostly D-II teams.
Coe-Brown fifth
Key players: Coe-Brown – Addison Cox (7th, 18:06), Abby O’Connor (21st, 18:57), Elly McDonough (23rd, 19:01), Ella Malone (43rd, 19:52), Sarah Dupuis (50th, 20:12)
Highlights/key moments: The Bears finished fifth at the prestigious Brown Invitational, topping strong opponents from across the northeast. Exeter’s Jacqueline Gaughan won the race in 16:48.
Hopkinton fourth, John Stark eighth
Key players:Hopkinton – Emma Rothe (15th, 20:45), Sydney Stockwell (17th, 21:10), Lilia Klingler (29th, 22:16), Cate Westbrook (32nd, 22:37), Lily Sabol (34th, 22:46); John Stark – Madison McDonald (23rd, 21:34), Laura Martin (26th, 22:12), Haleigh Bilodeau (35th, 22:51)
Highlights/key moments: A Hawks lineup comprised entirely of freshmen and sophomores held its own at the Pelham Invitational in a nine-team race against some of the best in D-II. Hopkinton’s score of 127 was good for fourth behind Souhegan (37), Campbell (70) and Milford (83). John Stark (185) finished eighth.