By Kevin Connelly

kconnelly@vindy.com

BROOKFIELD

Brookfield needed every second Friday night to earn a 30-27 victory over Springfield in a Division VI back-and-forth battle.

With 2.8 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter, the Warriors’ Kasey Tingler trotted out on the field to line up a 32-yard field goal with the game tied at 27.

“Funny thing about it is every day at practice we put the whole team around him and they do everything they can to disturb him,” Brookfield coach Randy Clark said. “Yesterday we did that and he made a 50-yarder, so it paid off.”

For Tingler, practice indeed made perfect as he kicked the game winning field goal to lift Brookfield (1-0) to it’s 11th consecutive regular-season win.

“Kasey’s a good kicker and we knew he could make it if we got in his range,” Brookfield quarterback Augustus Necastro said. “We just got it down the field anyway we could.”

Necastro completed passes of 5, 23, and 19 to get the Warriors in field-goal range. He finished the game 15 of 27 for 204 yards and a touchdown. He also ran 12 times for 65 yards and a score.

It took three quarters for Brookfield to play the brand of football it has been accustomed to playing, but once they did, the Warriors proved difficult to stop. Trailing 20-6 to begin the fourth quarter, Joe Clark took a screen pass 60 yards to the Springfield 5-yard line and punched it in one play later.

Still trailing by a touchdown with just over 3 minutes to play, Necastro connected with Nate Morrison for 13 yards on fourth and 10. Necastro then kept it himself and scored from 21 yards out to tie the game with just over two minutes remaining. After a three-and-out by the Tigers, Brookfield set up for the final drive on their own 36-yard line with 1:20 left on the clock.

“We don’t quit,” Clark said. “Having a bunch of young kids and kids that haven’t seen the field, that’s a hell of a win.”

For Springfield (0-1), blowing a two-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter won’t be easy to stomach. Junior quarterback Hunter Snyder was in command of the offense the entire first half, but he never made it onto the field after halftime because of dehydration.

Sophomore Graham Mincher picked up right where Snyder left off and made a couple key plays down the stretch. It just wasn’t enough to overcome the Warriors.

“We did some positive things tonight,” Springfield coach Sean Guerriero said. “Our kids came to battle tonight and fought to the last second, so I’m proud of our kids.”

The two quarterbacks combined to go 10 of 18 for 211 yards and two touchdowns.

Brookfield team had several key players to replace and questions to answer. While Friday night’s performance is a start, Clark knows this team still has a lot to show.

“These kids haven’t gotten any credit for pretty much anything they’ve done,” Clark said. “Last year’s senior class is still getting more ink than any of these guys are and it grows on them.

“They want to be remembered as the 2013 team.”