Brebeuf Comes Up Just Short
By Tad Williams
Brebeuf’s magical season and eight-game win streak both ended on Black Friday in Lucas Oil Stadium when Evansville Memorial defeated the Braves 29-17 in the Indiana State 3A Title Game.
Both teams rode the hot hands of the quarterbacks that had gotten them to this point, as Evansville’s talented junior QB Michael Lindauer threw for 201 yards and two scores, while also running for 83 yards and another TD. Brebeuf senior QB Derrick Ozobu kept the Braves in the game with big plays all day, finishing with 291 yds passing, including a 45-yard scoring pass to Gabe Wright in the first quarter that tied the score at 7-7.
Special teams had been an ongoing part of Brebeuf’s postseason story, and the title game proved no different, as Miles McIlwain returned a 2nd half kickoff 77 yards for a TD and Alex Potts kicked a season-long 44-yard field goal which brought the Braves to within six at 23-17 late in the third quarter. Senior WR Jacob Pressler also blocked an extra point on Memorial’s third TD, which almost proved crucial in a close game.
Brebeuf was down by that same 23-17 score with 7 minutes remaining in the fourth quarter when Ozobu’s third-down pass to Wright was just off his fingertips on a deep route which would have set the Braves up in scoring position.. The next pass was intercepted by Memorial, which scored a touchdown a few plays later to provide the final margin.
Senior LB Dillon Howell won the Blake Ress Mental Attitude award for Mic Roessler’s Braves, who finish the season at 10-5 after their second trip to the State Finals in five years.
