Rudder vs. Brenham: Wrap-Up

BY JORDAN MESEROLE

BRYAN – It was a battle of first versus last in District 18-4A Friday night at Merrill Green Stadium, and it didn’t take long for fans to be reminded of which team was which.

The Brenham Cubs hung up 472 yards of total offense and scored nearly every other time they touched the ball, defeating the home Rudder Rangers 48-24.

With the victory, the Cubs remained undefeated and in first place in the district standings, while the Rangers remained winless on the 2013 season.

On Brenham’s first play of the game, quarterback Caleb Hill connected on a 71 yard passing play to Tyler Watts, setting the tone for the game. Two plays later, with only a minute off the clock, Brenham running back Jordan Graves dashed into the end zone for a three-yard touchdown, giving the Cubs a 7-0 lead.

After punting on its first possession, Rudder was bit by the turnover bug much as it had been for the entire season, as quarterback Brady Bratten fumbled the ball into his own endzone, on which Brenham fell on top of to push the Cubs’ lead to 14-0 with 7:07 remaining in the first quarter.

The Rudder offense recovered on the next drive however, marching 50 yards down the field and connecting on a 31 yard field goal by Rangers kicker Eric Hausman, narrowing the Brenham lead to 14-3 with 3:10 remaining in the first.

It would be the last time the Rangers would see the scoreboard again for nearly two quarters, during which Brenham would hang up four more touchdowns.

The Cubs spread out the offensive attack, scoring on rushing plays by Walter Thomas and Earnest Patterson, and a passing touchdown by Hill to James Homan all before halftime, giving the Cubs a 35-3 heading into the locker room.

Patterson finished the night as the Cubs’ top offensive performer tallying up 114 rushing yards on just 14 carries, all of which came in the first half.

After tallying up only 11 rushing yards in the first half, Rudder abandoned the running game and went to the air, which produced better results. Batten connected on scoring plays of 7 yards, 18 yards, and 54 yards to receiver Isiah Johnson – all in the second half – but couldn’t keep pace with the three scoring drives by Brenham as well in the second half.

Batten finished the night 14-32 passing with 227 yards and the three scores, 98 of those yards going to Johnson.

Brenham continued to utilize the ground game in the second half, scoring on rushing plays by Thomas and Ja’Michael Adams. Adams added another 113 rushing yards to the Cubs’ total, all of his carries coming in the second half only.

Rudder will attempt to get its first victory of the season next Friday when they travel to face off against Willis.