On Friday, November 3rd, the Brebeuf Braves took on Mooresville in the sectional championship. Coming off two wins against Northview and Lebanon where they had dominant offensive performances, hopes were high for the Braves going into Friday. The Braves picked up right where they left off. In the first quarter, the Braves struck first with a Quinn Warren ’24 field goal from 34 yards and a Maverick Geske ’25 6-yard touchdown pass to Taylor Clark ’25 to end the first quarter.
The Braves felt great going into the second quarter with a 10-0 lead. However, Mooresville got the ball and struck back to cut the lead to 3, but the Braves fought right back to restore their 10-point lead with a Jay Hmurovich ’25 five-yard touchdown reception, putting the Braves up 17-7. However, this game was far from over. These two high-powered offenses once again went shot for shot with two more Mooresville touchdowns and one of Brebeuf’s own to follow from an 80-yard kickoff return touchdown by Javawn Brooks ’24, helping Brebeuf have the lead 24-21 heading into halftime.
After the break, the Braves picked up right where they left off with a 13-yard CJ Harris ’25 Rush touchdown. However, Warren’s ’24 extra point was blocked. Mooresville capitalized on this opportunity, with 2 successful drives down the field resulting in a field goal and a 20-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 30 with time expiring in the 4th quarter. The Braves countered with their own attack, driving down the field. This culminated in Warren ’24 drilling a near school record-breaking 53-yard field goal to give the Braves the lead back at 33-30. Despite this effort, Hogan Denny got Mooresville right back in the game because, on the very next play, he scrambled for an 80-yard score to give Mooresville the lead back.
The Braves were heartbroken, but Maverick Geske ’25 helped lead a drive down the field with time expiring in the game, which eventually led to a 14-yard dump-off pass to Javawn Brooks ’24 with 29 seconds left. Brebeuf and many of Mooresville’s players had thought the game was over, but not Hogan Denny. He led a 64-yard drive in 4 plays to give his kicker, Tyler Church, a chance to be the hero of his school. Church attempted the 33-yard field goal, missed, and the celebrations started, but Brebeuf’s head coach, Matt Geske, had called a timeout before the snap to try and ice Church and make him more nervous. Church had another attempt at the 33-yard field goal, and this time, he made it.
Brebeuf’s season ended heartbreakingly, but not before showing how much potential this young team has. Although they will lose several valuable players, this is still a very young team that has a great chance to make a run at the state championship next year and for years to come.
