High school football: Brunswick runs over Elyria

ELYRIA — There were plenty of rushing yards to go around, and the Brunswick football team had no problem sharing the wealth. The Blue Devils ran for 288 yards, including 153 in the first half, in beating Elyria 49-0 in non-conference play Friday at Ely Stadium. "We've been focusing all week because we knew we had a really good chance to win this game," said quarterback Sean Barnett, who led the team with 75 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns while also throwing for 61 yards. "Coming out, we punched them in the mouth quick. Elyria has athletes all over the field, so we had to punch them in the mouth early. We just played great, and I'm proud of our performance up front, too." Brunswick (1-2) scored on all five of its first-half possessions, including a 28-point second quarter that allowed it to start the second half with a running clock. Barnett scored the first two touchdowns, the first from 17 yards and the second from 40. His first touchdown was set up by three straight runs of 13 yards from two players, Gavin Ballok and Eli Nichols. "I'm proud of our line," Barnett said. "We ran counter left, counter right, and they did a great job. Everyone was focusing up. It's all about focusing during practice, and our coaches get us prepared as well. People were doubting our offensive line this year, but they're proving they're capable." Ballok and Nichols got in on the scoring fun in the second quarter. Ballok capped a four-play drive with a 1-yard touchdown, with that possession starting with receiver Landen Kirchner taking a jet sweep 36 yards to the Elyria 17-yard line. Nichols scored the final two touchdowns of the opening half, his first from 8 yards and the second from 2 with 14 seconds left. The Blue Devils rested their starters for the second half. Kirchner finished behind Barnett with 51 yards and Nichols and Elijah Poindexter finished with 48 and 38, respectively. "Going into Week 1, and I'll take full accountability, we thought (the offensive line) would be a weak part on our end," Brunswick coach Kole Carter said. "Week by week, our coaching staff has done a phenomenal job of preparing these guys and really having them understand the schemes. If you can run the football, you can win football games. It's really exciting to have a way to move the ball between the tackles." Brunswick's defense also shut down Elyria (0-3), holding it to 168 total yards, with 43 coming on the final play of the game. Brunswick, which welcomed back Elijah Clement and Cohen Easa, sacked Antonio Pride three times in the first half and forced two fumbles. Pride led the Pioneers with 75 rushing yards on 21 carries while throwing for 35 yards on 6-for-13 passing. "We just really appreciate the work that they put in on defense," Carter said of his assistants. "They get the guys lined up in the right position and get these guys playing with their hair on fire. It was exciting to watch them fly around and make some plays today." Contact Chris Sweeney at sports@medina-gazette.com. Follow him @CSweeney1686 on X. Brunswick 49, Elyria 0 BRUNSWICK &emsp;&emsp;7 28 7 7 — 49 ELYRIA &emsp;&emsp;0 0 0 0 — 0 First B — Sean Barnett 11 run (Vincenzo DiTeodoro kick), 6:39. Second B — Barnett 40 run (DiTeodoro kick), 11:01. B — Eli Nichols 1 run (DiTeodoro kick), 8:08. B — Gavin Ballok 8 run (DiTeodoro kick), 2:32. B — Ballok 2 run (DiTeodoro kick), 0:14. Third B — Elijah Poindexter 24 run (DiTeodoro kick), 9:22. Fourth B — Carter Hall 21 run (DiTeodoro kick), 2:47. &emsp;&emsp;B &emsp;&emsp;E First downs &emsp;&emsp;19 &emsp;&emsp;&emsp;11 Rushing &emsp;&emsp;26/288 36/133 Rushing average &emsp;&emsp;11.1 &emsp;&emsp;3.7 Passing &emsp;&emsp;4/6 &emsp;&emsp;6/13 Passing yards &emsp;&emsp;74 &emsp;&emsp;35 Total offense &emsp;&emsp;32/362 49/168 Punting &emsp;&emsp;0/0.0 3/29.0 Penalties &emsp;&emsp;6/65 &emsp;&emsp;8/92 Fumbles &emsp;&emsp;0/0 &emsp;&emsp;2/2 RUSHING: Brunswick — Barnett 4-75, Landen Kirchner 2-51, Nichols 6-48, Poindexter 3-38, Ballok 6-29, Coen Easa 1-23, Hall 2-20, Jake Tamosiunas 1-8, Jackson Hulvalchick 1-(-4). Elyria — Antonio Pride 21-75, Kwan Ward 2-49, Khyree Anderson 5-28, Jacory Bradley 6-(-4), Jesus Vazquez 2-(-15). PASSING: Brunswick — Barnett 3-4-61-0, Tamosiunas 1-2-13-0. Elyria — Pride 6-13-35-0. RECEIVING: Brunswick — Anthony Gamboa 1-22, Adin Evert 1-21, Gavin Moore 1-18, Elijah Clement 1-13. Elyria — Tyger McCullum 3-22, A'sa Brown 2-4, Christian Rogers 1-9.