Brookwood Escapes West Blocton with a Win, Improves to 2-0

The Brookwood Panthers (2-0) survived a close game on the road against the West Blocton Tigers (0-2) 14-13 on Friday night, claiming its second win of the season. This is the first time in 12 years that Brookwood has started the season 2-0.

Panthers head coach Mike Bramblett spoke on what he thought about his team's close win, specifically speaking about the difference in the offense's and defense's performance.

"We learned a ton of lessons tonight," said Bramblett. "Our defense got after it and played really really well. Offensively we didn’t execute at all… but our defense played their tails off, our defensive coaches coached their tails off, they competed and they found a way to win the game and at the end of the day, that’s what it comes down to."

The game proved to be defensive early as the teams traded possession five times in the first quarter alone, with no points being scored.

The biggest play in the first quarter was a big run by sophomore running back Nate Barron to get West Blocton inside the 10-yard line. However, the Tigers couldn't turn the great field position into points, going three-and-out, getting called for a false start on fourth and goal and then proceeding to miss the field goal attempt.

The Tigers ended up striking first to break up the defensive stalemate that formed between the two teams. On their first possession in the second quarter, it took just two plays for them to score, with sophomore quarterback Caden Fancher throwing it 40 yards to sophomore wide receiver Tyseon Smith for the touchdown.

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It didn't take the Panthers long to retaliate though, as they scored on their next possession by way of sophomore quarterback Jacob Rowell throwing a 19-yard touchdown pass to junior tight end Timothy Barron on fourth-and-11.

Brookwood turned successful offense to defense as they recovered a fumble by West Blocton on their next possession. The Panthers' offense, in turn, scored just one play later with senior quarterback Kobie Humphries throwing a 67-yard bomb to senior wide receiver Otis Sims.

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The Tigers did find themselves with a chance to put points up near the end of the first half after junior linebacker Seth Isbell intercepted the Panthers and brought the ball inside the red zone. Unfortunately for the Tigers, their offense was not able to convert again, and after another false start pushed them from the 3-yard line to the 8-yard line with two seconds left on the clock, they were not able to complete the would-be touchdown pass.

West Blocton was finally able to put more points on the board with its first possession in the second half, with Fancher running it in himself from three yards out after the drive started on the Tigers' 47-yard line. However, with a chance to tie the game, West Blocton missed the point after attempt, a missed point that would prove to be crucial to the result of the game.

After the Tigers scored to make it 14-13, the game became a defensive stalemate once again. Penalties, three-and-outs and turnovers plagued both teams for the rest of the game, resulting in no more points scored by either team.

In what may have been the most crucial part of the game, Fancher went out with an injury at the beginning of the fourth quarter after a quarterback run and didn't return for the rest of the night. Freshman quarterback Trey Lawley replaced him.

"We needed a game like this, didn’t want one but we needed a game like this," said Bramblett after the game.

West Blocton head coach Dre'Mail King also spoke about what he thought about his team's performance after the close loss.

"I think our team played hard, but got to finish the game, got to execute," said King.

Brookwood will look to get its third straight win of the season next week on the road against Hueytown.

West Blocton, still looking for its first win of the season, will play at home against Bibb County next week.