Bruin Frosh Get Defensive; Top Placer, 21-7

A strong defensive effort Thursday evening paid off handsomely for the Bear River High freshman football team.

Hosting Placer in a critical early season Pioneer Valley League match up for both squads, the Bruins got downright defensive with the visitors from Auburn and used their strong-arm tactics to post a 21-7 win.

Anchored by a stout showing from the defensive unit which intercepted four Hillmen passes and also blocked a punt, the Bruins built a 14-0 halftime lead, weathered one rally storm by the Hillmen in the third quarter then put the game away in the fourth quarter with the Bear River offensive line controlling the line of scrimmage.

The win squared Bear River’s PVL record at 1-1 and lifted the team above  .500 at 3-2-1 overall for the season.

Placer, after winning its last two games, fell to 1-1 in the SFL and 2-3 overall.

Bear River drew first blood in the contest when quarterback Joe Lavelle connected with receiver Joey Reina on a nine-yard scoring aerial in the opening quarter.

The Bruins went for two points on the conversion try and  upped the count to 8-0 with Chris Carcido hauling in a a pass from Lavelle.

With less than four minutes to play in the first half, Bear River scored again when Corey Pierce took a draw play and darted 51 yards through the Hillmen defense for a touchdown and give the hosts a 14-0 halftime advantage.

The Hillmen came out of the locker room to start the second half with a lot of energy and manufactured a long 85-yard scoring drive which was capped with a nine-yard touchdown run.

The conversion kick by the Hillmen trimmed the lead to 14-7 with 1:40 left in the third period.

However, any effort by Placer to overhaul the visitors was stymied by a strong Bruins’ ground game.

Led by the upfront work of Garrett Tungett, Michael Mascari, David Beghetti, Craig Hackland and Alex Tostado, the Bruins kept the pigskin on the ground for most of the second half to wilt the Hillmen’s defense.

All total on the night, Bear River finished with 268 yards rushing to spice the win.

Sean O’ Brien, who led all of the game’s rushers with 110 yards on 20 carries, capped the game’s scoring with a three-yard touchdown blast with just over a minute to play.

Pierce was right behind O’Brien as he racked up 83 yards on seven carries and Sam Houston added 46 more yards on just three carries.

Coming up with pass interceptions on the night for the winners were Carcido with a pair and Zach Welz and Pierce with one apiece. The blocked punt was credited to Garrett Keck.

The Bruins will travel to play Mesa Verde in Citrus Heights next Thursday. The game is scheduled for the Mesa Verde campus with kickoff set for 3:30 p.m.