By SCOTT NOVAK
Dowagiac Daily News

A pair of second quarter Stone Hadley touchdown passes to Cody Udell were good enough for Brandywine to pick up its first victory of the season Thursday night.

Hadley and Udell hooked up on scoring strikes of 21- and 31-yards in the second quarter to give the Bobcats a 14-12 victory over host Centreville.

“It was nice to get the win,” Brandywine coach Mike Nate said. “Kids really fought hard for it.”

The Bulldogs led 6-0 after one period of play on a 14-yard Zach Jergens pass to Taylor Jergens with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter.

Brandywine took the lead just five seconds into the second quarter when Hadley hit Udell with a 21-yard touchdown pass and then added the extra point to make it a 7-6 contest.
The touchdown was set up by Derek Nichol’s interception.

On the ensuing kickoff, Brandywine recovered a Centreville fumble at the 33-yard line and the Bobcats were back in business.

This time Hadley hit Udell from 31 yards out and suddenly it was a 14-6 contest with 11 minutes remaining in the opening half.

But neither team was able to find the end zone from that point on as the two defense settled in.

Centreville (0-2) finally was able to move the ball in the final quarter and scored with 3:38 remaining as Zach Jergens hooked up again with Taylor Jergens on a 19-yard touchdown pass.

The Bulldogs went for the 2-point conversion, which failed as Dustin Bell sniffed out the draw play, leaving them down just two points.

Over the final three minutes, Brandywine’s Dustin Sater, who finished with 80 yards rushing on 25 carries, came up with a pair of defensive gems.

The Bulldogs tried the on-side kick, which was recovered by Sater and returned to the Centreville 22-yard line.

But the Bobcats (1-0) were unable to run out the clock and turned the ball over on downs to the Bulldogs.

With one last chance, it took another defense play by Sater to end the threat and give coach Mike Nate his first victory.

Sater picked off Zach Jergens pass with 1:30 remaining to seal the victory.
While Brandywine gave up over 300 yards in total offense to the Bulldogs, it was again a solid defensive effort by the Bobcats.

“They were on the field a lot,” Nate said of his defense. “Again, we bent, but we didn’t break. We held them out of the end zone a couple of times and in the end it really paid off.

“The kids really gave it a great effort, especially coming off a loss. They really responded well and did what was necessary to get the win.”

Brandywine finished with just 186 yards in total offense, but it was a balanced attack with 94 yards through the air and 92 on the ground.

Hadley finished the night 3-of-6 with an interception. Udell hauled in four passes for 72 yards.

Sater led the defensive charge with 12 tackles, while Udell finished with 10 tackles. Ralph Sater recovered a fumble for the Bobcats, who take on Berrien Springs in its Lakeland Conference opener next Friday night.

“Offensively I guess you could say we had enough to win,” Nate said. “We had a couple of nice drives where we didn’t score, but we were able to take time off the clock.”

“Congrats to Niles-Brandywine and their coaching staff and community,” Centreville coach Jeff Terpenning said. “Coach Nate did a better job at preparing his team than I did. Both teams played hard, it was a tough loss for us.”

“The kids came to play and that’s a good sign,” Nate said. “We were a little flat the first game, but we were a little bit more focused tonight.”

Brandywine 0 14 0 0 – 14
Centreville 6 0 0 6 – 12
C – Zach Jergens 14 pass to Taylor Jergens (kick blocked)
B – Stone Hadley 21 pass to Cody Udell (Hadley kick)
B – Hadley 31 pass to Udell (Hadley kick)
C – Zach Jergens 19 pass to Taylor Jergens (run failed)