LaBrae edges JFK in thriller to stay unbeaten

Staff photo / Neel Madhavan. LaBrae’s Treyton Derry (11) carries the ball against Warren JFK on Saturday night at Liberty.

LIBERTY — “That was awesome,” shouted LaBrae coach Jon Elliot to his players after the Vikings came from behind to beat Warren JFK, 17-14, at Liberty High School on Saturday.

“My kids don’t quit,” Elliot said. “They fight as hard as anybody I’ve ever seen. They won’t quit until that clock says zero. That’s what they did tonight.”

After both teams failed to score in the first quarter, LaBrae (3-0) turned the ball over on the first play of the second.

“We were underdogs coming into this,” LaBrae quarterback Kenny Yoho said. “We played hard and we fought until the end. I’m excited for the rest of the season. We can win every game on our schedule. We’re a great matchup for anybody.”

The Eagles (2-1) took advantage of the turnover when quarterback Freddy Bolchalk connected with LaMarcus Provitt on a slant route. Provitt took it the distance, 73 yards down the left sideline, for a touchdown. A two-point conversion gave JFK an 8-0 lead.

The Vikings answered. Treyton Derry ripped off a 29-yard run to the 13-yard line, before Easton Armstrong capped off the drive with a four-yard touchdown run to make it 8-7.

“I really like our offense,” LaBrae junior Eric Reibold said. “Our offensive line was putting in good work creating holes for our running backs. Our defense came up big in the end. We were all hyped and we knew we could get it done.”

The Eagles went ahead 14-7 at halftime after a first-down run by Steven Thomas. Bolchalk scored on a 21-yard quarterback keeper after that, but they failed to convert the two-point attempt.

Marcus Komora intercepted the ball for the Eagles to begin the second half, but the Vikings’ defense held JFK to a 30-yard field goal attempt which was no good.

LaBrae tied it up 14-14 with 2:37 left in the third quarter after a long drive and an eight-yard touchdown run by Dillon Bate.

“We came out at halftime and said it’s our turn now,” Elliot said. “It’s our second half. Let’s come out and do the things that we’re supposed to do.”

The Vikings got the ball back and Yoho completed a pass to Bransen Hawkins for a gain of 20 yards over the middle. The JFK defense kept LaBrae out of the end zone, but senior kicker Josh Biery made a 22-yard field goal to put the Vikings ahead 17-14 with 4:09 remaining in regulation.

“We wanted to put the game away right there,” Elliot said. “JFK played well and we just had to play defense again. Coming into the season, I don’t think anybody gave JFK enough credit. They’re a pretty good football team. Watching film, I was scared. We have another tough game against Garfield next week. Now, we have to go prepare for them.”

The Eagles had two more opportunities to tie the game. It looked like the game would end when LaBrae grabbed an interception, but JFK forced a turnover on downs. JFK got the ball again, but the Vikings’ defense kept the Eagles from advancing as the game came to an end.

“We knew, coming in, that it was two great teams playing against each other,” said Eagles coach Damon Buente. “They played better than us. It’s that simple. This was just a failure on my part. It was a lesson in head coaching. I need to improve.

“We have Grand Valley next week. It’s not about who we’re playing. It’s about us. We have to get better. We had a lot of penalties tonight. That’s on me to correct it and fix it.”

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