BROOKLYN- Lutheran West capitalized on some big early plays that led to a convincing 47-13 win at Brooklyn on Friday.
Playing with an aggressive game plan, the Longhorns were impressive all night long, especially on the first play from scrimmage as running back Eddie Lewis blazed down the field for a 60-yard touchdown run to get the night started.
“Great blocking was key in that run,” Lewis said. “We have been running that play all week. We call our lineman our hogs; they got up in front of me and after that, all I saw was the green grass.”
That play set the tone for the Longhorns, who extended their winning streak over Brooklyn to 11 straight games.
“I think the unsung hero of the game tonight was our offensive line, they do a heck of a job,” Lutheran West Head Coach John Parrella said.
The defense was firing on all cylinders throughout the game as well.
“I was really pleased with our older guys on the defensive side; we just have to keep getting better and better every single day,” Parrella said.
Lewis was far from finished on scoring. He found the end zone a second time midway through the first, this time finding a running lane between the tackles to push the Longhorn lead to 14-0.
Slowing down wasn’t in Lutheran West’s plans.
Lewis added two more touchdown runs to push the Longhorn lead to 26-0 late in the first quarter and freshman running back Da’Quarius Bradley got in on the action in a major way, taking a punt return 80 yards to the house to give the Longhorns a 33-0 lead.
Lutheran West added another touchdown midway through the second quarter when JaMarrion Banks plowed through the defense on a two-yard run that increased Lutheran West’s lead to 40-0.
Brooklyn went into the locker room on a positive note as quarterback Jacob Sullivan rolled to his left and threw a touchdown pass to Anthony Starr as the clock was winding down.
Lutheran West led at the break, 40-7.
Lewis changed that midway through the third when he scooped up a dropped handoff and found the edge and then scored on a 49-yard run with 5:32 remaining in the quarter.
“Every play and every down we’re going to give it our all,” Lewis said.
Lewis finished the game with 285 rushing yards and five scores.
Brooklyn closed out the scoring midway through the fourth on another Sullivan to Starr touchdown pass.
With the win, the Longhorns improved to 3-1. They host Vermillion on Friday. Brooklyn fell to 2-2 and will look to bounce back against visiting Wickliffe next week.