Article Photos

Advertisement

HARRIS - Bark River-Harris's football season ran into a roadblock Friday night as the Broncos dropped a 24-0 decision to the Stephenson Eagles in a Division 8 district final.

The Broncos had trouble generating an offense on this seasonably cool night as they gained a total of 185 yards and committed six turnovers.

"At some point you have to develop an attitude that championship teams have to play defense, and the kids put in a lot of work during the off-season," said Eagles' coach Chad Brandt. "Our coverage was real good tonight. We kept their guys in front of us."

The Eagles (7-3), crowned district champs for the first time in six years, face the winner of today's Crystal Falls/Lake Linden game in next weekend's regional final. The Broncos finished 9-2.

"Sooner or later your season ends, only it hurts a little more to see another team taking it (district title) on your field," said BR-H coach Joe Derouin. "This leaves you wishing you could have gotten the one at home. We had a great turnout of fans and we disappointed them."

The real back-breaker came with two minutes, 50 seconds left in the third quarter when senior running back Mike Swille plowed through the line on a two-yard touchdown run and a 21-0 advantage.

Swille's second score took place just moments after senior kicker Roman Alberti, an exchange student from Italy, scrambled for a 17-yard gain around on a busted field goal attempt to the BR-H two-yard line.

"(Holder) Jake Herres made a great play by pitching the ball to Roman," said Brandt. "Roman then ran for his life."

Alberti started left, then retreated and cut all the way back across the field and simply followed his blockers after evading several defenders behind the line of scrimmage.

"It hurts to have that happen when you have them tackled for a 25-yard loss, then suddenly the guy sees nothing but open field in front of him," said Derouin. "If you stop them there, maybe you have a chance to change the momentum."

Alberti then finished the scoring on a 26-yard field goal with 5:44 left in the contest.

Stephenson, aided by a facemask penalty, took a 7-0 lead on its opening drive. Swille climaxed the 61-yard march by slicing through the middle on a three-yard run.

The Eagles then raised the count to 14-0 midway through the second stanza on an 80-yard pass from freshman quarterback Austin Grinsteiner to Herres, a junior wide receiver.

"That was a nice play," said Brandt. "He (Grinsteiner) is going to make mistakes, but he has also shown an ability to make plays."

Grinsteiner, who completed 8-of-17 aerials for 193 yards, was intercepted three times by senior Lucas Kleiman.

The Eagles finished with 417 yards in total offense, gaining 224 on the ground. Swille led the way with 114 on 23 carries.

Bryce Derouin, who was helped off the field with an ankle injury in the second frame, returned after the intermission. Derouin, under constant duress, was 7-of-27 passing for 70 yards with four picks.

"He (Derouin) broke contain a few times and made some plays," said Brandt. "Fortunately, he never got the home run. I thought we had good pressure on him."

Stephenson's defensive secondary collected five interceptions, including two by freshman Nolan Lukasik. His first pick took place on the play prior to Grinsteiner's 80-yard scoring strike.

The Broncos rushed for 115 yards, with senior Nick Burns gaining 79 in 16 attempts.

"Overall, I don't think we played our best football," said coach Derouin. "We felt confident going in. The kids were ready. But once the game started we looked like deer caught in headlights. It seemed like everything we didn't want to have happen, did happen. I may have put a little too much pressure on the kids. Although Chad had his team well prepared. They came in here and did what they had to do. They just plain beat us."

Stephenson7773-24

Bark River-Harris0000-0

First quarter

Stephenson - Swille, 3-yard run (Alberti kick), 8:17

Second quarter

Stephenson - Grinsteiner, 80-yard pass to Herres (Alberti kick), 5:45

Third quarter

Stephenson - Swille, 2-yard run (Alberti kick), 2:50

Fourth quarter

Stephenson - Alberti, 26-yard field goal, 5:44

Statistics

Total offense - Stephenson 417 yards, Bark River-Harris 185 yards.

Rushing - Stephenson, 224 yards (Swille 23-114, Dulak 4-33, Herres 2-30, Smotucha 11-21, Alberti 1-17, Lukasik 6-10, Grinsteiner 5-(minus-1); Bark River-Harris, 115 yards (Burns 16-79, Derouin 7-23, L. Kleiman 6-6, J. Kleiman 1-3, Keshick 2-3)

Passing - Stephenson, 193 yards (Grinsteiner 8-17, 1 TD, 3 Int.); Bark River-Harris, 70 yards (Derouin 7-27, 4 Int., Johnson 0-2, 1 Int.).

First downs - Stephenson 16, Bark River-Harris 13.