Beaver Local 35, Brookfield 7
By DAVID GRIMES / dgrimes@reviewonline.comArticle Photos
CALCUTTA -In the Beaver tale of the 2009 football season there is a happy ending.
Beaver Local was able to find the endzone in each quarter en route to a, 35-7, victory over the Brookfield Warriors at home.
A lot of things were finally clicking on the football field for the home team, according to head coach Rich Wright.
"I didn't think it'd take nine weeks but we only turned the ball over once and moved the ball well, both on the ground and in the air, and once coach (Jordan) Williams made a couple adjustments defensively to take away that fullback, we played good defense."
With their backs to the wall, the team came out confident and rejuvenated after playing five playoff-caliber teams in a row without going over seven-points in each game during that five-week stretch.
Senior Beaver lineman, J.J. Intorre, not known for being the shy type, knew his team could pull off a win against the Warriors. The expectation to win flowed through the home sideline.
At the beginning of the game just before kickoff: "We're going to win this game," the 6-2, 265-pound lineman said.
Entering halftime with the score, 14-7 in Beaver Local's favor: "I'm telling you, we're going to win."
And finally, after the game in an emotional huddle of the senior players, Intorre kept his word.
"I told you, I told you," he exclaimed amidst of a celebration of Beaver players, coaches, parents and fans.
Intorre talked the talked and he helped his team walk the walk as four different Beaver Local players scored touchdowns on a warm evening at Fighting Beaver Stadium.
Intorre recorded six tackles and a sack for the Beavers.
After holding Brookfield to just a five-play drive that ended in a punt, Beaver took over and marched down the short, 32-yard field for a touchdown. Running back Rickey May went untouched from a yard out to put the Beavers up by a touchdown with just under seven minutes to play in the first quarter.
The seven-play drive was made from a balanced air and running attack led by quarterback Evan Schneider with help from receiver Jarod Pirl and running back Ryan Smith.
Schneider finished the evening completing 19 passes and rushing for 14 yards and a touchdown.
On Brookfield's first possession of the second quarter, they rode the back of Joe Kirila for a 30-yard drive that was capped by a double-pass trick play to a wide-open Cameron Derr for a touchdown.
Beaver Local bounced back and was able to drive 55-yards in under two-minutes before the half to put an exclamation point on the first two quarters of play.
Schneider moved the pile from a yard out when some on the Beaver sideline were expecting a spike to stop the clock.
Brookfield took a knee to run out the clock and Beaver was up at half, 14-7.
And Beaver Local wasn't done.
Jared Britt picked up the third-quarter kick-off and rambled back to mid-field.
Taking to the I-formation, May, Britt and Bobby Mercer helped move the ball on the ground while Lyle Jennings caught a 25-yard pass to put the Beavers in the redzone. May was able to put in the ball from four-yards out and with an unsuccessful extra-point, Beaver was ahead 20-7.
In the fourth quarter, Beaver put together their longest drive going 84-yards that stemmed from the quarter before. Schneider had success by rolling out of the pocket to find an open receiver or take to the ground himself.
In the end, Schneider found Pirl, who was able to stutter-step before going out-of-bounds for the six-yard touchdown catch with just 20 seconds left on the play clock. Pirl finished with 57 yards, just three shy of leading wide-receiver Jake Lunders.
Brookfield's offense continued to stall and when a punt by the Warriors was followed up by a 33-yard catch-and-run by Pirl, the second team took to the field to ice the game.
Each team fumbled to each other which gave Beaver another opportunity to showcase their second-team offense.
With Britt under the helm, he and freshman Phillip Beohm helped set up a Daniel Lattanzio touchdown run when he found a wide-open lane off the middle line to go in from 10-yards away.
Beaver Local led a balanced attack going 192 yards on the ground while putting up 195 yards in the air. Eight different runners and four receivers touched the ball to help move the offense.
The defense only gave up 36 rushing and 121 passing yards for the Warriors.
"We got to play a lot of guys tonight, and we got a lot of guys back," Wright said. "It was a good way to end the year. I think the seniors wanted to go out with a victory."








