By Steve ruman

sports@vindy.com

Mcdonald

It may not go down in McDonald High football history as “The Drive.”

But when the books are closed on the 2017 season, the Blue Devils’ 98-yard march down the field in Friday night’s opener against Brookfield may very well prove to be the most pivotal possession of the campaign.

Just when it looked like the Warriors had all the momentum in the world, the Blue Devils did what they do best — run at, over and around their opponents. As a result, the Devils ran off with a 27-14 victory at A.A. Burkey Stadium.

Trailing 14-13, McDonald put together a 98-yard, 10-play drive to regain a lead they would never surrender.

Junior running back Alex Cintron made the two biggest plays of the drive. On a third-and-14 from the McDonald 11, Cintron rambled 47 yards to put the Devils inside Brookfield territory. Then on a fourth-and-2 at the Brookfield seven, Cintron went the distance.

Cintron (14 carries, 146 yards, three TDs) added a 50-yard touchdown run with 1:27 left in the game to seal the win.

“This was pretty intense, I like when the games are close,” Cintron said. “[Brookfield] came out and smacked us to start the second half. Coach [Dan Williams] told us to just keep at it, just keep pushing along. We did that and things worked out.”

Early on, it didn’t appear McDonald would need any second-half heroics. The Blue Devils built a 13-0 lead with first-half touchdown runs by Cintron and Josh Celli (17 carries, 127 yards).

But momentum shifted just before halftime when Brookfield running back Alex Clark took a pitch from his quarterback and tossed a 34-yard touchdown strike to Gage Emery. The score came with five seconds left in the second quarter.

In addition to his touchdown throw, Clark rushed for 133 yards on 22 carries.

Brookfield then took the opening possession of the second half and marched 78 yards on 12 plays, capped by Tyler Briggs’ 2-yard run, to take a 14-13 lead.

McDonald’s next possession resulted in an interception. Brookfield drove all the way down the McDonald 3-yard-line, but was turned away on a fourth-and-two play to set up the Devils’ long, go-ahead drive.

“[Brookfield] came out and just ran it down our throat in the second half,” Williams said. “Our kids had a couple of choices. They could have either laid down or they could have kept battling. I gotta give them credit, they kept battling.

“We grew up tonight. We have a young football team with just six seniors and a lot of juniors who are inexperienced. But we matured as a team tonight.”

Brookfield coach Randy Clark liked the way his team came out and took charge after halftime, but said his team “has to play all four quarters” if it is going to succeed.

“They’re kids, they’re learning. But they have to play better and they have to learn what it means to be a team player,” Randy Clark said. “It’s Week 1, and God bless, we have nine more weeks.

Brookfield will look to rebound next week when it hosts Springfield. McDonald returns to action at Columbiana.