Team

Springfield

Record	Div.	Conf.
9/1	Div. VI	Mahoning Valley Athletic Conference

Team

Brookfield

Record	Div.	Conf.
3/7	Div. VI	All-American Conference Blue Tier

By ERIC FORTUNE

sports@vindy.com

BROOKFIELD

One moment changes everything.

That moment came with under nine seconds left in the first half and the Brookfield Warriors in control of the game.

That moment was a fumble that set the Springfield Tigers up in a game that was 18-6 in favor of the Warriors, who were on the cusp of pulling away thanks to two Springfield turnovers and two three-and-outs in the first half.

Instead, the Tigers persevered with a 41-31 victory Friday night thanks to two touchdowns in those final seconds in the first half.

“We’re up 18-0 and we let a couple of opportunities get away in the last minute of the first half,” Brookfield coach Randy Clark said. “It just killed us. We went to a prevent defense and they connect for a touchdown and we have the turnover. There is no need for that.”

That quick strike from Graham Mincher to Brandon Walters made it 18-13 going into the second half.

“Definitely coming into halftime, we did end up lucking out,” Springfield coach Sean Guerriero said. “We ended up completing the touchdown and fortunately we got a turnover and we hit one right before half.

“At halftime, I got on the kids. We didn’t do everything right. We kicked ourselves in the butt a little bit. We didn’t give ourselves a chance.”

On their opening drive of the second half, it seemed the Tigers (1-0) picked up where they had left off before the drive stalled at the Warriors’ 18 yard.

Two plays later, the Warriors (0-1) were back up by two possessions at 24-13 after a 68-yard pass from Augustus Necastro to Caleb Hunkus.

“Coming out and fighting in that second half, we tried to get a little fire under us,” Guerriero said. “I think that first drive helped us. We didn’t score but we were able to move the ball. It was a good drive for us.

“From there, we just caught fire. Ethan [Nezbeth] made plays tonight and our line protected tremendously. We made big plays when we had to.”

Those big plays consisted of touchdowns passes of 82, 60, 59 and 21 yards as Mincher finished with 372 yards passing.

“He’s been doing it for three years. Right now, he sees things that I see on the field,” Guerriero said. “His experience has been unbelievable.”

After putting themselves in a comfortable position with a two possession advantage at the 7:18 mark of the third quarter, Brookfield punted on their next three possessions with two being three-and-outs.

From there, a fumble at the Springfield 46 ended the ensuing possession and an interception by Mincher of Necastro midway through the fourth quarter sealed the victory for the Tigers.

Necastro was much on par with Mincher with 317 yards passing, but the passing lanes that were there in the first half disappeared in the second half as he had six straight incompletions when Brookfield couldn’t sustain drives.

“It’s hard coming into Week 1,” Guerriero said. “I think our kids started learning being in the game situation. They started played better. They took their read steps. Our defense just started running to the football. We got a couple of turnovers and it started to turn.”