Bray helps Sterling defeat Friends in KCAC opener
Sterling’s Antonio Bray felt confident.
Boy, did it show.
The preseason All-KCAC selection was sensational from the start for the visitors, scoring on an electric 84-yard run on the Warriors’ first possession, piling up 271 all-purpose in the first half alone to lead Sterling (1-2) to a 36-33 win over Friends.
Not a bad day at the office.
“Everything just fell into place,” said Bray. “The O-line opened up a big hole and I’ve got speed. I just have to be patient and hit it and if I get it, I’m going to go.”
Bray ran for 179 on 17 carries.
Sterling would need every single inch of them.
After jumping out to a 7-0 lead courtesy of Bray’s run, Friends responded with an impressive drive of their own, capped by a 29-yard touchdown pass from Aaron Hansen to Chris Allen.
The back-and-forth affair would become a theme throughout the half, with both squads exchanging scores before Sterling finished the first half with 14 unanswered points. Warrior quarterback Reggie Langford found wide receiver Dentton Hudspeth on a 19-yard touchdown pass following a Falcon turnover and Jonathan Fullbright added a score on the ground for the Warriors just before the break to push the lead to 28-14.
After lighting forced a 45-minute delay with 6:09 left in the third quarter, Hudspeth scored his second touchdown of the game on a physical third down and goal run to seemingly put the game out of Friends’ reach.
But the Falcons (1-2) put forth a fierce fourth quarter comeback, with Hansen connecting on two touchdown passes with Chris Allen, who finished with seven receptions for 220 yards and three scores.
“It is easy to maybe grab ahold of a negative because it may seem a little more glaring right now,” said Friends coach Monty Lewis. “But we still stayed in it and they couldn’t bury us because of our heart and the guts we showed tonight.”
Sterling | 14 | 14 | 6 | 2 | — | 36 |
Friends | 7 | 7 | 0 | 19 | — | 33 |
S — Bray 84 run (Juarez kick)
F –Allen 24 pass from Hansen (Nixon kick)
S – Ratliff 27 interception return (Juarez kick)
F – T. Allen 29 run (Nixon kick)
S – Hudspeth 19 pass from Langford (Juarez kick)
S – Fullbright 16 run (Juarez kick)
S – Hudspeth 8 run (Extra point failed)
F – Hansen 1 run (Extra point failed)
S – Allen return off extra point
F – Allen 43 pass from Hansen (Extra point failed)
F – Allen 81 pass from Hansen (Nixon kick)
Individual Statistics
Rushing – Friends: T.Allen 23-118, Scott 3-33, Brandon 4-20, Rogers 6-20. Sterling: Bray 17-179, Fullbright 3-20, Langford 13-31, Hudspeth 6-14.
Passing – Friends: Hansen 16-28-282-3. Sterling: Langford 4-13-99-.
Receiving – Friends: Allen 7-220 3TD , Wesley 3-7, Bryan 2-27, Bautista 1-14. Sterling: Bray 1-62, Hudspeth 2-34 TD, Newell 1-3.
This story was originally published September 20, 2014 at 11:38 PM with the headline "Bray helps Sterling defeat Friends in KCAC opener."