| Brockton | 31 |
|---|---|
| BC High | 17 |
BROCKTON — Brockton’s Jonathan Derolus is New England’s 100-meter dash champion. But it was on the football field Friday night where his blazing speed stood out.
Derolus’s 70-yard touchdown run highlighted a dominating rushing attack in the ninth-ranked Boxers’ 31-17 win over BC High at Marciano Stadium.
The Boxers (3-1) had five rushes of more than 30 yards — and three more than 50 — and combined for 328 yards on the ground. Derolus finished with 104 yards and a touchdown on eight carries and fellow running back Kerry Raymond added 157 yards and a score on 10 carries.
Quarterback Aaron Williams, who attempted just six passes, rushed for two scores and 67 yards on 11 carries.
“We’ve been working on [the offense],” said Brockton coach Peter Colombo. “I thought our offense has been getting better each week. [BC High’s] a good football team. We were still able to run the ball. We didn’t have much passing yardage. That’s what we want to do. I’m very proud of the way the kids executed.”
The rushing barrage began on the Boxers’ first series. Trailing, 3-0, after Pat McDonough’s 33-yard field goal, Raymond burst through the line on the second play of the drive and pulled away for a 50-yard score that put Brockton up, 7-3.
Midway through the second quarter, Derolus capitalized on an almost identical play. The senior broke through a hole and left the BC High defense in the dust on his way to the 70-yard touchdown, which extended the lead to 14-3.
“My D-coordinator likes 12-13 play drives,” said Colombo. “But I’ll take two- or three-play drives. Jon Derolus gives us that type of speed.”
BC High (2-2) responded with a nine-play drive that ended with Sean Holleran finding Nick Gill for a 43-yard strike. Gill ran inside the defender and cut to the middle to make it 14-10 with 1:53 left in the half.
Boxers’ Scott Ramos missed a 34-yard field goal as time expired in the second quarter.
The Boxers used another long run to set up a score on the first drive of the third. Raymond broke one for 52 yards, before being taken down at the BC High 1-yard line. Williams finished it off with a keeper, putting Brockton up, 21-10.
“Those [long runs] were frustrating,” said BC High coach Jon Bartlett. “We just couldn’t get that stop when we needed to.”
After Eagles running back Brendan Smith fumbled on the next drive, Brockton capitalized when Ramos converted a 30-yard field goal that put the Boxers ahead, 24-10.
BC High came right back with another long drive to cut it to 24-17. Junior Steve Timmins appeared to be tackled at the 15, but somehow trudged his way into the end zone for a 24-yard score.
Brockton took a 31-17 lead on the ensuing drive when Williams scored from 2 yards out.