News and Announcements
Posted: 2006-09-17
GAME SUMMARY: Varsity vs. Brighton
Big plays lift 'Dogs — Brighton downs Hartland, improves to 2-2
Article published Sept 17, 2006
DAILY PRESS & ARGUS
HARTLAND — As the midpoint of the 2006 high school football season nears, both Brighton and Hartland have seen progress and room for improvement.
That, too, was the case on Friday, where the Bulldogs made the most of their opportunities in a 27-6 victory over the Eagles.
Brighton improved to 2-2 overall, 2-1 in the Kensington Valley Conference, while Hartland fell to 1-3, 0-3.
The difference was big plays: Brighton made them, and Hartland did not.
Three of Brighton's four touchdowns were from 30 or more yards out, including a 52-yard run by backup quarterback Devin Hochberg to put the game indisputably out of reach with 40 seconds to go.
T.J. VanDoren was in on the Bulldogs' other three touchdowns. The first came on a 1-yard quarterback sneak for the first points of the game. The other two came on a 33-yard pass to Hochberg in the second quarter and a 32-yard scoring strike to Thomas Rice in the fourth.
"We had some receivers making nice catches and our line gave us time to throw the ball," Brighton coach Bill Murray said. "We gave T.J. some time in the pocket, and when you do that, he'll find an open receiver. He's the kind of quarterback who can take advantage of what the defense gives him, if you give him time to operate."
VanDoren was sacked just once while completing 13 of 24 passes for 253 yards. Rice was his favorite target, with six catches for 114 yards.
"It was a real good offensive performance," VanDoren said. "No turnovers (on offense), we were catching the ball and running the ball, and our line did a hell of a job blocking."
The Eagles, meanwhile, had their moments as well.
Quarterback Ryan Wilkins completed 13 of 24 passes for 116 yards, but was sacked several times, which hurt the Eagles.
"We didn't lose the ball, but the yardage we lost on penalties and sacks just killed us," Wilkins said. "It was a few little things that killed us. If we can minimize those, we'll move the ball. We can be a great team. We have the potential."
Hartland running back Drew Mixter had 95 yards rushing in 23 carries, 58 of those on the Eagles first drive, when they moved 81 yards before scoring on an 8-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Wilkins to Chad Fritts.
"Drew's a good back," Hartland coach Marcus Dukes said. "He's got great vision, great feel, and when we can get him into the open field, he's tough. He played hard tonight and had some nice runs."
But the Bulldogs tightened up on defense after that, holding Mixter to 37 yards on 17 carries the rest of the way.
"What we did on the second series is that we installed the tackle," Murray joked, referring not to the position but the act. "That was our secret weapon. We came up with the concept that if you wrap up the guy and drive your legs, sometimes he comes down.
"I think we just started doing things a little better than we did (on the first drive)," he continued. "We settled down into the game."
It was 13-6 at halftime, and Brighton didn't score again until early in the fourth quarter, on Rice's touchdown.
"I thought our defense played well," Dukes said. "At times they took away some things Brighton was trying to do. A couple of blown coverages were really the difference."
If there was a cloud for the Bulldogs, it was the ground game, which saw Brighton rush for just 47 yards on 20 carries before Hochberg's 52-yard run with 40 seconds left.
"I'd like to rush the ball better than we did," Murray said. "We need more balance to keep defenses from ganging up on one side of the ball."
Both teams have their hands full next week. Brighton plays host to Milford, while Hartland travels to South Lyon.
"We needed to come out (of Friday's game) with a win," Murray said. "We realize we have a big game next week but right now we take them one week at a time, and this was our most important game."
Said Dukes: "We're going from a track meet to a slugfest. Hopefully we can do some damage (at South Lyon) and maybe get in the end zone a little more often."