Brandon’s varsity football team will have to regroup after letting a win slip through their fingertips.
Visiting Lapeer West came from behind to defeat the Blackhawks 30-27 in an Oct. 8 Flint Metro League contest. The Blackhawks are now 2-5 overall and 1-3 in the league.
The Blackhawks had a 27-16 lead going into the fourth quarter, but the Panthers rallied for two touchdowns in the final stanza to pull out the win, improving to 3-4 on the season.
Brandon coach Ron Gill said he was disheartened the Blackhawks lost a game they had a chance to win.
‘Certainly, you have to give West credit,? he said. ‘We didn’t move the ball in the fourth quarter and they did. They overcame the rain and we didn’t. Certainly, we had some breakdowns, but offensively we were unable to move the ball. We had poor field position the whole quarter.?
The Blackhawks scored two touchdowns in the first quarter, as senior running back Derek Foyt scored one of his three touchdowns on the evening, rushing for a 39-yard score. Senior quarterback Andrew Burch added a five-yard touchdown run as the Blackhawks took a 13-7 lead at the end of the first.
Foyt went long distance again on his second touchdown of the game, rushing for a 72-yard touchdown in the second quarter to help the Blackhawks take a 19-14 lead at halftime.
Brandon again turned to Foyt in the third quarter to build their lead, as the senior rushed for his third touchdown from eight yards out to give the Blackhawks a double-digit lead at the end of the third. For the game, Foyt rushed for 164 yards and three touchdowns.
In addition to Foyt, Gill said several other players did well for the Blackhawks: Nick Toreli, Andrew Hyde, Andrew Spry, and Jordan Wingett.
However, Toreli was one of an ever-growing number of Brandon players to succumb to injury, as he was taken off the field by an ambulance during the game and is lost for the rest of the season.
Others who were injured against the Panthers, according to Gill, were Robert Speedy, Josh Papineau, and Ryan Smith. The team’s injuries have left the Blackhawks, who started the season with 41 players, down to 26 for the team’s two remaining games.
The Blackhawks traveled to Fenton for an Oct. 15 game against the Tigers, who are 0-7 on the season after a 20-7 loss to Holly Oct. 8.
‘They’re in about the same situation as us,? Gill said of Fenton. ‘They’ve run the ball rather well at times this season. It should be another dogfight ? we’ll need some more sophomores to step up.?