BRUINS SAVOR HOMECOMING WIN

Homecoming is usually the sweetest win of the year in high school football, and so is the first win of the season.

The Bruins achieved both on Friday night, romping South Umpqua 43-20 and recording their first home win since 1998.

After being forced to punt the ball on their first drive of the game, the Bruins promptly took the ball out of the Lancers dirty mitts, forcing them to punt in a fourth and 11 situation without achieving a first down in the short drive.

Brookings-Harbor running backs B.J. Whirry and Justin Oliver started spinning their tires, taking the football up the middle for a 66-yard drive, culminating in a 6-yard Oliver touchdown jaunt.

Whirry took his turn and ran the pigskin into the end zone for the two-point conversion to give the Bruins an 8-0 lead with 4:48 to go in the first quarter.

South Umpqua may not have posted a win on the season yet, but dont ever count the Lancers out.

On the ensuing kick return, Lancer Joel Britt rambled 75 yards for a touchdown, and Dave McElmury ran the ball into the end zone on a fake extra point kick, good for the two-point conversion and a 8-8 tie.

In the second quarter the Bruins blew South Umpquas doors out, outscoring the hapless Lancers 22-6 in the quarter.

The Bruins were in scoring position going into the second quarter, and the first play of the second quarter, Oliver hit pay dirt again with his second touchdown of the night.

The run failed for the two-point conversion, and the Bruins settled for an uncomfortable 14-8 lead 8 seconds into the second quarter.

The Bruins answer forced South Umpqua to fumble and recovered the football at the South Umpqua 49 yard line.

BHHS drove the ball back the other way. The drive included two consecutive 5-yard runs by Whirry and Oliver that got the Mighty Bruins on the South Umpqua 5.

Oliver took it from there and pushed the ball straight up for another touchdown, and tacked on the two-point conversion to give the Bruins a little more of a cushion 22-8 with 5:06 left in the half.

Brookings-Harbor got the ball back, by stuffing the Lancers fourth and 12 first down attempt.

South Umpqua regained control of the football on a fumble recovery, and tried to make something happen.

Bruin Andrew Banaut denied the Lancers any opportunity to move the ball with an interception with 1:19 to go in the first half of football action.

Brookings-Harbor pushed up to their own 47, and Oliver once again supplied the touchdown.

Oliver used outstanding blocking from the Bruin offensive line to break free and take the football back 53 yards for the touchdown.

Oliver picked up another two-point conversion on the PAT, and the Bruins found themselves securely in the drivers seat with 48 seconds left in the half 30-8.

The Lancers struck back with their second touchdown of the game, and the season, as Ryan Savage connected with Zach Falk on a 30-yard touchdown pass as the first half ended to pull themselves back into it.

The extra point run failed and Brookings-Harbor held a 30-14 lead going into the halftime intermission.

The third quarter ended up a scoreless gridlock between two teams, and BHHS went on to outscore the winless Lancers 13-6 in the final period of play.

To end the third quarter, BHHS forced the Lancer offense to punt the football away on fourth and 9 on the Lancer 2.

Dave Chesterman returned the punt to the South Umpqua 30.

The Bruins carried the ball to the 1-yard line before the third quarter expired.

Whirry took the ball and plowed up the middle from 1 yard out on the pitch in the opening seconds of the fourth quarter.

Whirrys first TD of the evening placed the Bruins firmly in control 36-14. The Bruin PAT kick was blocked by the Lancer special teams defense.

South Umpqua tried to pull itself back into the contest, but Savage dropped back on a play to pass, and was hit in the backfield by a Bruin defender, forcing him to drop the ball.

The Bruins recovered the fumble and took over from the South Umpqua 18 yard line.

The Bruins easily moved the ball using a successful running attack to move the football up to the 1 yard line.

Dustin Gardner ducked his head and dove into the endzone under the South Umpqua defense.

Whirrys extra point made the score 43-14.

Britt found the end zone again for South Umpqua with 7:09 left, but it wouldnt matter.

No flags. No fumbles. Thats the difference. We still have a lot of work to do to be where we want to be, said BHHS coach Joe Morin.

It leaves a little sweater taste in our mouth, said senior Matt Gertsch in a noisy post game locker room with music from Metallica blaring in the background.

We played good as a team, and stuck together as a team, added senior Ron Pearce.

Senior lineman Shaun Bavaro said it was about time all of the hard work the team had put in finally paid off.

We just had to keep working and working, said Bavaro. Sometimes it comes earlier, and sometimes it comes later.