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WELLSBURG — When Brooke High School announced in May that Tom Bruney was taking over as head football coach, Bruin Nation braced for what it thought would be a positive season in which the veteran signal caller would begin to implement his system. Few could have envisioned what Bruney’s initial campaign has become. The 2009 Bruins have stormed the field in each of its first 12 weeks, remaining undefeated with a 34-14 victory over Ripley in the West Virginia Class AAA quarterfinal at Brooke Memorial Stadium, Saturday. “We’re extremely excited about being in the semifinals,” Bruney said. “Zach Taeff grabbed me right before the final seconds ticked off and he said, ‘Coach, do you remember what you said last summer? You said that if you practice on Thanksgiving day, then you are a good football team.’ Here we are and we get the opportunity to do some polishing on Thanksgiving morning.” The win ensures a meeting with University at Brooke Memorial Stadium at a date and time to be announced today as the No. 1 ranked Bruins take one step closer to the state title. “It is like a dream come true,” Brooke senior quarterback Cotey Wallace explained. “I never would have thought that we would be 12-0, but it’s here and we have to keep it going. We need to play our game and stay focused. We want to get that other win, go to the finals and do what we have to do.” Brooke showed its focus against Ripley, exploding in the first half for a 27-0 halftime lead. At one point in the first half, the Bruins’ offense had totalled four first downs and four touchdowns in an efficient display of their big play potential. “Our focus all this week was that we wanted to get out of the blocks and sprint a 100-yard dash to set that tempo,” Bruney said of his team’s quick start. “We wanted to do that right off of the bat, because in 10 of our other 12 games, the other team has scored first. So, it was our goal this week to get out of those blocks, sprint down the field and score first. “We’ve shown this year that we can take the ball and drive it 80 or 85 yards and take 12 or 15 plays. But then on the other hand, we can go on the same distance drive and do it in four or five plays. It just comes down to the execution. “Our theme this week and what we really wanted to focus on was what we called I.C.E. That is identify, communicate and execute. We just told the kids that, whether we are on offense or defense, to identify what is in front of you, communicate it so we are on the same page and then get it executed.” Wallace was the catalyst for much of Brooke’s offensive success, guiding the team with both his legs and his arm. “We have a lot of speed. The line, the receivers and everyone else has to do their job. When we all do our jobs at the same time, it gives us big plays,” Wallace said. “We still have a lot of mistakes that we have to correct.” Meanwhile, the Brooke defense dominated the line-of-scrimmage and held Ripley without a score until late in the game when reserves had begun to rotate in and the Bruins held a comfortable 34-0 cushion. “We didn’t play a 100 percent perfect game,” Bruney said. “I don’t know if I’m saying something bad here or not, but I thought that we totally dominated. Our defense will give up some yardage and we do bend and bend quite a bit at times. But it just seems to me that our defense always rises to the occasion and makes the play when it needs to be made. “I don’t know if that is anything that you coach. I just think that it comes from their heart and it is a lot of pride in what they’re doing.” Now, the Bruins must refocus and prepare for a University team which it beat 27-0 earlier this season with the winner taking a spot in the Class AAA state final at Wheeling Island Stadium. “We know what they’ve got and they know what we’ve got,” Wallace said. “We just have to come out, execute and do our thing and hopefully it will translate to a victory.” (Newman can be contacted at anewman@heraldstaronline.com)

 

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