A long, hard and emotional week for the Christian Brothers Academy football program culminated in a game that reflected those struggles.
For four quarters in a hot, steamy Carrier Dome during Friday night’s Kickoff Classic, the Brothers fought it out with Henninger – but unlike the 2013 Section III Class AA final, this one went in the Black Knights’ favor by a 20-13 margin.
Everyone associated with CBA, football or otherwise, felt a tinge of sadness on Sunday when Tony Silvaggio, the long-time assistant coach everyone called “Midnight”, passed away at age 74.
For 35 years, Silvaggio had given his time and heart to the Brothers, serving as an assistant coach for special teams. Coaches and players attended Silvaggio’s funeral on Thursday and, barely 24 hours later, had to go out and focus on football again.
And there was plenty to consider. Aside from a Henninger side that wanted to avenge last year’s sectional title-game defeat, CBA also was trotting out a pair of quarterbacks, senior Josh Brown and junior Jake Brotzki, neither of whom had emerged as the successor to J.R. Zazzara.
Yet from the outset, as both sides battled the sauna-like conditions in the Dome, the biggest problem for the Brothers would be its ability to hang on to the ball.
Andre Dowdell fumbled a punt near midfield to deny CBA a chance at its first possession four minutes into the first quarter. Taking full advantage, the Black Knights drove it to the Brothers’ 16, where Romero Collier threw into double coverage, but still found Keisean Scott in the end zone, putting Henninger in front 6-0.
Midway through the second quarter, Collier struck again, this time on defense, as he picked off Brotzki and returned it to CBA’s 40. Given another short field, the Black Knights relied on a series of runs, pounding away until Collier sneaked in from one yard out with 31 seconds left in the half.
Trailing 12-0 at the break, the Brothers kept chipping away, and didn’t flinch even when Brotzki threw a second interception, to Scott, near the Heninger goal line early in the third period.
Instead, the defense, who lost linebacker Kane Alletzhauser to a first-quarter injury, forced a quick punt, and the Brothers finally broke through, using a series of runs to get to Henninger’s 11, from where DeAndre Dowdell (Andre’s younger brother) found the end zone.
A missed conversion kept it at 12-6, but less than two minutes later, defensive back Collin Recore stepped in front of an errant Collier pass and returned it 27 yards for the TD. When Andrew Kolceski’s extra point split the uprights, CBA suddenly had a 13-12 lead.
What’s more, Collier had left the game and missed the Black Knights’ next series. He returned, though, when Brotzki threw a third interception and Jon Bryant returned it to the Brothers’ 36 early in the fourth quarter.
Quickly going to the air, Collier found Scott on a 20-yard pass near the goal line, and Najee Everson, who had run well all night, scored on a one-yard run with 9:50 left, putting the Black Knights ahead for good.
Try as it could, CBA’s offense could not answer, stopped on fourth down near midfield a few minutes later. Ultimately, that changed field position, and a bad snap pinned the Brothers deep in its own end and led to an intentional safety with 3:40 to play.
Trailing by seven, and out of time-outs, the Brothers had to make a stop – but Scott broke free for a 35-yard run, and Henninger ran out the clock.
The news for CBA got worse after the game. Alletzhauser was diagnosed with a broken arm and dislocated shoulder, and will miss the rest of the season, a difficult setback for a team that saw injuries to the likes of Deshawn Salter derail its post-season run a season ago.
Now the Brothers (0-1) will look to rebound in its Class AA-1 division opener Friday when it visits its close neighbors from Nottingham. The Bulldogs survived a wild, back-and-forth opener with Rome Free Academy last Thursday, prevailing 40-35.
