Broadmoor offense comes alive late

To say that Broadmoor’s offense struggled for much of Thursday night’s District 6-4A football game against Tara would be an understatement.

The Buccaneers went without a first down from late into the first quarter until less than a minute remained in the third. And they ran just six plays in the second quarter, one of which was a fumble.

Even longtime Broadmoor coach Rusty Price called his team’s situation “desperate.”

“We were trying to search things out,” he said. “We were working to have something to hang our hat on.”

The Buccaneers’ offense suddenly came to life in the fourth quarter, scoring on their final two possessions for a 21-6 victory at BREC’s Olympia Stadium.

Broadmoor marched 73 yards in 14 plays to break a 6-all tie, with running back Quantrelle Maxie and quarterback Ryan Sibley doing much of the damage. Maxie, who had just three carries for 4 yards in the first half, ran seven times for 37 yards and Sibley completed three passes for 25 yards on the drive, which spanned more than six minutes of the third and fourth quarters.

On second-and-7 from the Tara 10, Maxie took the handoff from Sibley and zig-zagged through the Trojans’ defense for a TD. Sibley dashed around right end on the two-point conversion for a 14-6 lead with 6:44 to play.

“We couldn’t do anything” in the first half, said Maxie, who finished with 13 carries for 70 yards. “At halftime, I had to get on the offensive line. I had to get them right. We came out (in the second half) and got at it.”

Tara’s next possession ended in a short punt, and Maxie and the Buccaneers sealed the victory with a six-play, 54-yard touchdown drive. Maxie ran five straight times to start the possession, and Broadmoor scored on a 28-yard pass from Sibley to wide-open tight end Darius Mickle for a 21-6 lead with 1:05 to play.

Price “wished he had an answer” for the Buccaneers’ late surge. They finished with 173 total yards, including 108 rushing.

“If I knew it, I’d had done it in the first half,” he said. “Injuries probably took the wind out of our sails a little bit. We’re playing a lot of young kids. But they grew up tonight. They did a much better job in the second half. I’m proud of the way they overcame.”

Neither team experienced offensive success early on. Tara crossed midfield just once in the first half, to the Buccaneers’ 46 on its first possession. The Trojans trailed 6-0 at halftime after Washington was intercepted by defensive back David Siggers, who ran 54 yards for the touchdown with 5:45 left in the second quarter.

“That was the crazy thing,” Tara coach Mitch McGrew said. “If you take away penalties and bad snaps, we moved the ball. But we knew it would be a tough task.”

“It’s sad we only got six points out of it. The stats don’t reflect it, and the score doesn’t reflect it. As far as getting a break, it’s just not happening.”

The Trojans put together their best drive of the game early in the third quarter. Taking over after a Sibley pass was intercepted by junior Devonte Briley, Tara went 56 yards in 11 plays. Washington rushed four times for 12 yards, including two fourth-down conversions, and completed three passes for 14 yards.

Washington capped the possession with a 1-yard touchdown plunge for a 6-all tie with 2:35 to play in the third quarter. He rushed 12 times for 34 yards and completed 14 of 28 passes for 90 yards and one interception.

“When (Broadmoor) scored to go up 12-6 and got the conversion, the best we could do at that time was tie,” McGrew said. “But if we had to go to overtime, it would’ve been a tough task for us.”