In regular-season finale, Patriots lose at Brebeuf
Oct. 16—Visiting Terre Haute North had some fun offensively against Class 3A's third-ranked Brebeuf on Friday.
The Patriot defense? Not so much, as the host Braves won 44-13.
North picked up two first downs on its first possession, stopped by an interception inside the 10-yard line.
But Brebeuf drove 76 yards in 13 plays to take the lead; recovered a fumble on North's first play after the kickoff and scored immediately; then forced a punt and scored in two plays.
When the Patriots were penalized on the third extra point, the Braves took advantage of a kickoff from North territory to recover an onside kick and scored in two plays. Six seconds into the second quarter, Brebeuf led 28-0.
Another Brebeuf touchdown was answered by an 80-yard North drive, Damon Sturm scoring on a 37-yard run — but again it took the home team just two plays to score again. That made the score 42-7 and set up a running clock for the second half.
North recovered a bouncing second-half kickoff and scored again, Bryson Carpenter passing to Jaden Wayt, but after holding the Braves for the first time, a punt snap out of the end zone gave Brebeuf a safety for the final margin.
Sturm had 59 yards rushing and 31 more as a receiver, while Carpenter passed for 122 yards.
"We're trying our best to keep improving," Patriot coach Billy Blundell said after the game. "Offensively, I think Bryson had a much better game than last week, the receivers had a good game for the most part, and we made some line adjustments."
Carpenter had to go to the air more often than usual because of the Brebeuf defensive front.
"They stopped us," Blundell said, "so we leaned on our passing game a little bit more . . . and that helped us out offensively. We were able to move the ball without depending so much on [Sturm]."
Defensively, however, the Patriots gave up more than 10 yards per play.
"Defensively we're struggling right now with the pass," Blundell said. "We've got to make sure we take our coaching better."
North had an injury to Zach Collins on Friday but otherwise emerged relatively unscathed as the Patriots prepare for a bigger task next week.
"We're all kind of banged up," Blundell said, "but the kids are batting like crazy. I'm proud of their toughness."
