Western Brown’s Matt Frye makes a leaping interception in the fourth quarter of the Broncos’ win over New Richmond. Photo by Garth Shanklin.
In one of the most crucial league games on the calendar, Western Brown overcame a sluggish first half offensively to pick up a key league win over New Richmond in week six.
The Broncos turned a 12-7 halftime lead into a 36-20 victory, improving to 5-1 on the season with the win. New Richmond dropped to 5-1 overall with the loss.
“I think the defense played great all night,” Western Brown head coach Nick Osborne said. “Offensively, we struggled in the first half. We were able to pick it up in the second half and come out with a win. The defense saved us tonight.”
Western Brown started things off with a bang, scoring on a 30-yard touchdown pass from Drew Novak to Matt Frye just 39 seconds into the first quarter. The extra point was no good but the hosts had a 6-0 lead.
The Lions punted and Western Brown marched down the field again, only to see the drive end with a turnover. A deflected pass was intercepted by Trane Light in the end zone and returned 60 yards, setting the Lions up at the 40.
They would reach the Western Brown eight before turning the ball over on downs.
The Lions’ defense answered the call on the third drive, forcing and recovering a fumble. The first quarter ended with a 6-0 Western Brown lead.
In the second quarter, the teams traded turnovers on downs to start the period. At the 8:21 mark, Novak connected with Frye again for a 27-yard touchdown. Silas Jacob broke up the two-point pass for New Richmond.
The Lions then fumbled back to the Broncos, who threw an interception to Tyler Senters.
Later in the period, New Richmond’s Matt Duty converted on a short touchdown run for the Lions’ first points. The team trailed 12-7 at halftime.
Western Brown struck quickly in the third half. Novak found Frye again, tossing a short pass that Frye took 71 yards for a score. Novak added a six-yard rushing touchdown at the 3:51 mark of the third to give the Broncos a 24-7 lead.
New Richmond wouldn’t go away quietly. A.J. Metzger answered with a 12-yard touchdown pass to Andrew Hawkins, trimming the Broncos’ lead to 10 points entering the fourth quarter.
Zackery Chisman put the Broncos on top 30-14 in the fourth quarter on a two-yard touchdown run. Metzger responded with a 51-yard touchdown run on the next drive.
Chisman added a long touchdown run on the next drive. Western Brown’s defense closed out the game with back-to-back interceptions on the Lions’ final two drives, one by Frye and the other by Andrew Schneeman.
“The defense played phenomenal tonight,” Osborne said. “People were kind of doubting them this year with the points we’ve given up, a few bad games here and there, but we’ve really put it together the last two weeks.”
Novak completed 20 of 31 passes for 302 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. He now has 11,861 career passing yards, good for fourth in OHSAA history. Novak is currently 144 yards away from tying Wooster Triway’s Parker Carmichael for third all-time.
He also carried the ball 14 times for 108 yards and another score. Zackery Chisman led the team in carries (20) and rushing ayrds (117). He scored two touchdowns on the ground as the Broncos made an effort to switch things up offensively in the second half.
“When our kids want something, I trust them,” Osborne said. “They said, ‘Hey, let’s run the ball.’ Really good teams trust their players to make plays and we were able to trust them tonight to make plays when we needed them.”
Frye had a big night on his birthday, racking up 204 yards and three touchdowns on eight receptions. Matthew Osborne had six receptions for 36 yards. Chisman tallied 13 yards on three receptions. Isaiah Smith collected 49 yards on three receptions.
He and Spencer Smith also forced fumbles for the Broncos. Austin Huff had had a fumble recovery. Colton Rogers led the Broncos’ defense with 10 total tackles. Dane Tomlin and Ty Loudon recorded a sack.
For New Richmond, A.J. Metzger completed 27 of 48 passes for 165 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions. He also led the Lions with 108 rushing yards and a touchdown on 11 carries.
“We were inconsistent offensively,” New Richmond head coach Brian Pitzer said. “I thought our defense played a really good game. The way they attacked in the first half, I thought we had a lot of momentum coming out in the second half. We didn’t execute offensively.”
Matthew Duty led the Lions with 12 carries for 43 yards. He also had two receptions for eight yards.
Cooper Tidball (53 yards) and Hawkins (26 yards) had six receptions each for New Richmond. Tanner Skaggs recorded five catches for 35 yards. Trey Sininger added four grabs for 17 yards.
Defensively, New Richmond’s Billy Foster forced a fumble. Jack Moore recovered it for the Lions. He also led the team in tackles (17) and recorded New Richhmond’s only sack.
“I thought our defensive coordinator, Nick Schmidt, had an amazing gameplan,” Pitzer said. “A team that scores 55 and you hold them to 36, I’d say that’s a pretty good night. We forced a lot of turnovers and created some issues for them.”
League play continues for both teams in week seven. New Richmond is scheduled to host Batavia while the Broncos welcome the defending Division IV state champions, Clinton-Massie.
