Fort Bragg scores 28 unanswered points to snap 13-13 tie
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FORT BRAGG >> The Clear Lake Cardinals were hoping to take another step forward Friday night during a North Central League I varsity football road game against the Fort Bragg Timberwolves, but at best took another step sideways in a 41-13 loss that leaves the team at 0-5 on the season.
“We’re just not a very well-coached team right now,” Clear Lake head coach Mark Cory said after the Cardinals, coming off a hard-fought 34-28 loss against Middletown a week earlier, fell apart over the final quarter against Fort Bragg (2-2 league, 3-3 overall). “It lands at my feet. We’re not doing enough offensively or defensively.”
While the final score indicates a one-sided affair, this game was tied 13-13 early in the third quarter after Clear Lake took the second-half kickoff and drove the length of the field, finally scoring on quarterback AJ Bruch’s second touchdown pass of the night, this one a 17-yarder to Ty Bingham, which along with Nolan Ewing’s extra-point kick knotted the score.
The tie game lasted only until Fort Bragg’s next possession as the Timberwolves answered with a touchdown and two-point conversion for a 21-13 lead. Clear Lake appeared to cut into that deficit on its next drive only to have a touchdown pass from Bruch to Adrian Truby wiped out by a holding penalty. Those same two players connected on a 60-yard touchdown pass early in the second quarter that brought The Cardinals within a point of Fort Bragg at 7-6.
The negated touchdown left the score at 21-13, which is how the third quarter ended.
“All hell broke loose (for us) after that,” Cory said of the fourth quarter.
Fort Bragg lengthened its lead to 27-13 just eight seconds into the fourth period before breaking the game wide open with two more quick touchdowns, one set by a Clear Lake lost fumble on a kickoff return. Before the Cardinals knew it, they were down 41-13.
Bruch’s touchdown pass to Jace Beard with 1:34 to play cut the margin to 41-19.
Cory compared to loss to a 45-13 non-league loss to St. Bernard’s earlier this season when the Cardinals hung around most of the game before giving up a large number of points down the stretch.
“It was very similar to St. Bernard’s,” Cory said. “But the bottom line is Fort Bragg was making the plays and we weren’t. Fort Bragg is much improved from a year ago and did a good job. They were running it down our throats at the end.”
One bright spot for the Cardinals was the play of Bruch, who finished 16-for-34 for 259 yards with three touchdowns but also two interceptions.
“AJ played really well tonight,” Cory said.
Truby caught four passes for 133 yards with a touchdown. The Cardinals gained only 49 yards on the ground.
Fort Bragg led 13-6 at the half.
“We played decent football for two-plus quarters,” Cory said. “We’re just not consistent enough right now. We need to do a lot better.”
Clear Lake returns home next Friday to play a Lower Lake (1-3, 3-3) team coming off back-to-back home overtime losses to St. Helena and Upper Lake.
Fort Bragg and Clear Lake tied 14-14 in the junior varsity game.
