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Hawks prevail despite gaffes

October 31, 2009 12:36 am

BY RICH CAMPBELL

E.L. Smiling and the rest of his Brooke Point teammates calmly walked over to the bleachers behind the home sideline late last night and led the fans in the school's fight song. The Black-Hawks' 13-0 win over Stafford ended their three-game losing streak and moved them to the brink of the Northwest Region playoffs--accomplishments worthy of a celebration.

Brooke Point, however, wasn't in a celebratory mood. Players sang without much oomph and quickly filed to the locker room under a steady drizzle.

The Black-Hawks almost certainly will be a playoff team when the Division 5 field is determined next week, but they don't feel like one after another uneven performance that failed to meet their standards.

"We're never happy," Smiling said. "We always try to strive for perfection. Tonight wasn't perfect, but we got the win."

Brooke Point (5-4, 3-3 Commonwealth) prevailed despite four lost fumbles and 157 penalty yards.

Billy Gonzales' 28-yard touchdown catch, two Josh West field goals and a stout run defense were enough to overcome a slew of miscues.

"We've got a mixture of players right now that are causing some inconsistencies on us, whether it's penalties, missed assignments, dropped passes, things like that," Brooke Point coach Jeff Berry said. "It's killing us. We'll look really good and move the ball down the field efficiently and then we'll do something bad to shoot ourselves in the foot."

The Black-Hawks fell out of the district race with three straight losses in which they allowed an average of 257 rushing yards and 6.1 yards per carry.

Last night they held Stafford to 81 yards on 39 carries.

Players said stopping the run wasn't specifically emphasized in practice this week. Instead, there was a broader focus.

"We try to be more physical every day," Smiling said. "It will come with that. Once we become more physical, we'll stop the run."

The Indians (2-7, 1-5) rushed for more than 200 yards against winless Albemarle last week, but they struggled against a Brooke Point defense that keyed on the run. Stafford used three quarterbacks and completed only 4 of 21 passes.

Smiling was one of several players that sparked an improved performance. Two series after West's 42-yard field goal made it 10-0 in the second quarter, Smiling stuffed Stafford quarterback Kyle Oltman on fourth and goal from the 2.

"My teammates got a good push up front and everybody just played their responsibility," Smiling said.

The positives ended there, though.

Brooke Point committed 16 penalties, including five that totaled 15 yards. Three were for unsportsmanlike conduct and two were for pass interference.

"That's my fault," Berry said. "That's a lack of discipline and that comes from the head coach. That's something we'll address."

And then there were the four fumbles. Two occurred inside the red zone.

"We've got to be focused and disciplined," said Brooke Point receiver Alex Figueroa, who also had a sack on defense.

Time is running out, though. Brooke Point has only next week's regular-season finale against Albemarle to shore things up.

"We're getting down to the nitty-gritty, and it's going to click," Berry said. If is doesn't this season, then next season for those guys. It's going to click sometimes because we've put in too much hard work for it not to."

First Quarter

BP--W. Gonzales 28-yard pass from G. Pisall (J. West kick).

Second Quarter

BP--J. West 42-yard FG.

Third Quarter

BP--J. West 21-yard FG.

TEAMSTATISTICS

INDIVIDUALSTATISTICS

Passing: Brooke Point--Gary Pisall 21-37-0 245, TD. Stafford--Gaither Mason 3-19-1 35; Kyle Oltman 1-3-0 8; Billy Bolloinski 0-2-1 0.

Receiving: Brooke Point--Alex Figueroa 7-74; William Gonzales 3-46, TD; Raevaun Redd 2-36; Arturo Brown 1-33; E.L. Smiling 4-30; Colbie Smithson 2-20; Alex Goodman 1-10; Tyus White 1-4; Kelvin Bediako 1-2. Stafford--Clay Bennet 2-25; Robert Alberti 1-10; Deion Smith 1-8.

Rich Campbell: 540/735-1974
Email: rcampbell@freelancestar.com