The Braymer Bobcats, powered by ten touchdown passes and two touchdown rushes from junior quarterback Jordan Haley, defeated St. Paul Lutheran 84-51 in a Saturday afternoon 8-man state quarterfinal in Concordia.
In a game broadcast on KGOZ 101.7 FM, Braymer started slowly, with the Saints taking the lead on a two-yard touchdown plunge by senior fullback Jayden Maggart just over two minutes in the opening quarter. Down 8-0 after St. Paul completed the two-point conversion, Braymer answered within 37 seconds, with Haley’s first touchdown of the day on a one yard quarterback sneak to cut the lead to 8-6.
St. Paul Lutheran pushed the lead back to 15-6 at the 7:25 mark of the opening quarter, on a 30 yard touchdown pass between Sheets and Wood, with the successful PAT following.
Braymer climbed back to down 15-14 by the end of the quarter, with a 24 yard strike from Haley to Wade Kincaid, and a Haley two-point conversion ending the first quarter scoring burst.
The Bobcats took the lead for the first time with a 2 yard pass from Haley to Griffin Hughson and a two-point Hughson catch sending the advantage to 22-15. The Saints rebounded to tie the contest at 22 with a 2 yard Bobzin to Woods connection and successful PAT.
One of the surges that helped Braymer in claiming the quarterfinal victory came late in the first half, as after Woods gave St. Paul a 30-22 lead midway through the second quarter, the Bobcats ripped away momentum, with a 22 yard touchdown pass to Caegen Sensenich, a three yard scoring run by Haley, and a scoring pass from Haley to Kaden Stone giving the visitors a 42-30 halftime lead.
Braymer started fast in the third quarter, as Haley hit Hughson with another touchdown pass, followed by a third touchdown connection between Haley and Hughson, sending the lead to 56-30.
Haley and Hughson combined on a 35 yard strike midway through the third quarter, with Haley and Sensenich combining on a five-yard score to answer back-to-back St. Paul Lutheran touchdowns late in the third quarter. Braymer put their 12th victory of the season on the board in the fourth quarter, with a 64 yard Haley to Hughson connection and a 15 yard Haley to Stone pass leaving the final score at 84-51. The Bobcats went to the ground game to successfully run out the clock over the final eight minutes of the game.
The win sends #6 ranked Braymer to #1 ranked Archie this Friday night, November 24th for a 7 o’clock semifinal showdown with the Whirlwinds. The game will be broadcast on KGOZ FM 101.7, with pregame at 6:30 from the Archie High School Football Field.
