Bruin Sportsource - Football Stories

October 4, 2024 Bruins vs. Chieftains

Overtime Upset

Written By: Cheyenne True

Our 2024 Homecoming Game was a hard fought loss. Beginning the game, Sapulpa went 3 and out, and Bartlesville tried to get the first down on fourth down. Bartlesville didn’t get it. Sapulpa made this decision worth it for them, getting a touchdown. Ending the first quarter, Sapulpa is 7 and Bruins are 0. However, the Bruins defense were making plays, Archer Swisher being the most notable. The second quarter was mostly uneventful. Bruin Damien Niko got us within 10 yards of the end zone, but it was taken back by a holding call on the Bruins. Daeton Stevens sacked the Chieftains quarterback, and during this process the quarterback fumbled the ball, which was recovered by the Bruins defense. The score at halftime was 7:0 Chieftains. There were a lot of 7s in the third quarter. Nate Neal (#7) faked out the Chieftains defense and ran down the field to the 3 yard line. The Bruins then fail to get a first down. It’s now 4th and 3 (4+3=7). Bartlesville is lining up for a field goal and they get the Chieftains to jump offsides, getting the Bruins a first down. With that first down, the Bruins get a touchdown and the P.A.T. is good (6+1=7). The play that led to the touchdown was Nate Neal passing the ball to Damien Niko, Niko then throwing the ball to Neal, and Neal getting the touchdown. This makes the score 7 to 7, with 7 minutes left in the third quarter. Chieftains then get another touchdown before the quarter ends, making the score 14 to 7 Chieftains. In the fourth quarter the game got really exciting. The first play of this quarter, the Bruins tied the score with a touchdown by Damien Niko. Next time the Bruins have the ball, Nate Neal passes to the Chieftains, the ball tipped by a Bruin. Sapulpa then gets a touchdown with 6 1/2 minutes left to go. The score is now 21:14 Chieftains. Bartlesville then punted, getting no points on this drive. Chieftains are forced to punt as well, their center throwing the ball over the quarterback’s head. It’s fourth down, Sapulpa’s punting and the center throws the ball over the punter’s head, Bruins then get the ball just outside the Chieftains 25 yard line. Neal throws to Julian Uribe, but it bobbles out of his hands into a Chieftain player’s hands. However, #4 Sam Hoback makes up for the interception by intercepting the ball with 49 seconds left in the fourth quarter. The Chieftains then get penalized for roughing the passer, which gets the Bruins 15 yards and an automatic first down. To send the game into overtime Nate Neal passes to Michael Kent, Kent getting a touchdown. #32 Dillon Burson ties the game with the extra point through the uprights. With the score being 21 to 21, the game is sent into overtime. Bartlesville gets the ball first, and the Bruins immediately score a touchdown, #0 Sutton Williams on the carry. Chieftains then tie it up again with a touchdown. The game is then sent into double overtime. Sapulpa has the ball first, scoring a touchdown quickly. Bartlesville tried to tie it up, but the Chieftains defense kept getting in the way. Multiple incomplete passes intended for Damien Niko ended the game. Sapulpa 35 and Bartlesville 28. At the end of the game, Coach Wright said this, “I’m proud of them and how they left the field. It just didn’t turn out the way we wanted it to.”

September 20, 2024 Bruins vs. Cardinals

Home Opener Spoiled

Written By: Cheyenne True

For the first home game of the season, the Bruins were playing the Collinsville Cardinals. The Cardinals got the first touchdown, which we immediately followed up with one of our own. At the end of the first half the Bruins were down by 7. The score was 17 - 10 Cardinals, but you could feel it in the crowd that we weren’t going to give up. If we won, it would be the first time in the last 5 games that we played against them. The one handed catch Julian Uribe made definitely helped keep the crowd rowdy. Sadly, the Bruins didn’t walk away uninjured, #6 Stefen Williams was hurt, and #21 Daeton Stevens was taken off the field in a stretcher to an ambulance. One of the coaches reassured us that he was just taken as a precaution. He could move all his limbs, he never blacked out, and he doesn’t have a concussion. However, all our efforts to win ended in a loss to the Cardinals. The end score being 23 - 37 Cardinals. Coach Wright had this to say at the end of the game, “Let’s go back to work and improve from week 2 till now and we just gotta keep getting better.”

Bruins Fall to Muskogee

30-27

Written By: Tanner Yardley

This game was absolutely intense! The Bartlesville Bruins were looking for a guaranteed playoff position, and the Muskogee Roughers were looking to hold onto their undefeated season. On the first drive for Muskogee, they immediately scored coming out strong after holding the Bruins to a three and out on their first drive. Except the Bruins weren’t done yet. Number 7 Nate Neal threw an RPO pass to Jett Scully for a 51-yard gain, almost scoring a touchdown. Early out in the game, you could already tell that this was going to be a close game. Going into the half, the Bruins were up by one point 17-16. This was huge for Bartlesville because they were going up against an undefeated team. They certainly had a strong game plan going into this game. “Control the football, and run the ball,” is what coach Wright had to say at the half going into the locker room. To start out the 3rd quarter though, Bartlesville didn’t get the defensive start they were hoping for. Muskogee went deep and threw it to a receiver downfield for a 48-yard gain almost scoring a touchdown, but the defender was there to stop him. They did end up scoring the touchdown after that, making the score 23-17. Bartlesville was ready to show that they were contenders because after that they almost immediately scored. All night the Bruins were kicking onside kicks and almost getting the ball back every time, but this time they did. It set them up with great field position to try and win the game. Unfortunately, they could not get the touchdown, but they did get a field goal that gave them the lead bringing the score to 27-23. That would be the last score of the night for the Bruins though. Early in the fourth quarter, Muskogee scored a touchdown that won the game. Penalties played a big role in Bartlesville losing. They were overall playing a pretty clean game, but the pressure got to them and they unfortunately had to pay the price for that. Overall though the Bruins had a good performance against this team. Muskogee is a really hard team to beat any day and Bartlesville really showed that they are so close to being a contender.

Bruin Freshman Fall To The Roughers 18-12

Written by Daniel Humby

10/17/2023

A key turnover by Muskogee late into the 2nd quarter led to the Bruins first touchdown. But the lead wasn't held for long as the Roughers answered right back before the half and tied the game up 6-6. After a lot of fouls from both teams which in turn led to good field position, allowed for subsequent scores for each. The game was tied 12-12 in the third quarter. Then in the 4th quarter when Muskogee was about to make another touchdown the bruins shut them down with the help of the penalties. After a back and forth game the bruins sadly lost 18 to 12 by a deep pass on the final play of the game.

Bruins Drop A Close One To Stillwater 14-10

Written by Daniel Humby

10/12/2023

The bruins thought if the first six plays were the direction the game was heading we would lose, but they were able to adapt by picking up the defense. The Bruins staunch run defense began easily shutting down Stillwater's drives. At half time I asked coach Hubbler what the plan was and he said "we have to control the ball". That is exactly what the Bruins did throughout the second half.

In the third quarter PJ Wallace began to dominate the Stillwater defense with some great field vision and downhill running. Shortly after this the bruins had their first touchdown of the game from Damien Niko and the bruins made their extra point. The rest of the second half was dominated by defense on both sides. Bruin punter Braxton Decker had an amazing night, averaging around 45 yards per punt and helping to keep Stillwater backed deep ion their territory. Even after all the bruins did, a couple of costly penalties on the final drive allowed Stillwater to score. On the subsequent kickoff, starting our last chance drive, there was a penalty and the coaches opted for a rekick. This decision led to a muffed return and gave Stillwater the ball back to end the game. The Bruins fought hard to secure the victory, but in the end penalties and poor decisions let to the unfortunet loss.

Bruins Win Big In Waning Moments

Written by Scott Vermeire

10/6/2023

Friday night was a perfect night for football. There was a distinct fall chill to the air, and an energy that filled the stadium. It was homecoming night and the Bruins were looking for a big win over Putnum City West. As the fans trickled into the stadium, they were met with the beautiful glow of the new video board, dubbed the “BRUINtron”. It is the third largest in the state and homecoming was a perfect night to unveil it. From the player introductions to the run out music, the fans were electric and charging up the team. As the game kicked off the Bruins took an early lead on a rushing TD, set up by a long pass getting into the redzone quickly. A few plays later the defense was able to force and recover a fumble, which set up our next TD. Starting the 2nd quarter 14-0, it was a back and forth struggle until Putnam was able to force a fumble and return it for their first score. Putnam’s next score would also be set up by another Bruin fumble. With the time running down on the clock the Bruins mustered a great scoring drive led by host a long passes and excellent receptions. Putnam City wasn’t done yet as they punished the defense with an 80 yard end around and completing the 2-point attempt to tie the game 21-21 at the half. The second half was not as exciting offensively as the first, but it was more defensive. The Bruins were finally able to get back on the scoreboard with around a minute left in the 3rd, going back up 28-21, but Putnam City settled the score with another long end around run tying it back up at 28-28. The fourth quarter the bruins couldn’t seem to get any momentum on offense and had several unfortunate unsportsmanlike penalties called that allowed Putnam City to keep drives alive. On Putnam City’s final drive the defense needed a boost. Between the crowd, band, and hype from the BRUINtron, the defense once again forced and recovered a crucial fumble setting up the game winning field goal. The final score, 31-28 Bartlesville, proves that when this team is hungry, the #EAT!

Photo courtesy of Granger Meador

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Sportsource Highlights - by Tanner Yardley

Unfortunate loss for the Bruins 24 - 22

Written By: Tanner Yardley

What an amazing Freshman football game we had on Tuesday night. To start the game off, the Bruins had a strong first drive scoring the first touchdown of the game against Booker T. Washington. After that, things did not go as well for Bartlesville and Booker T. Washington ended up scoring 18 points before halftime. The Bruins offense was not able to score again until the 3rd quarter. Although Bartlesville had a very slow start to the game, they started to gain some momentum towards the end of the game. The Bruin defense came in clutch and did not let the Hornets score for the rest of the game. Bartlesville put up an amazing effort against Booker T. Washington, but unfortunately, it was not enough. Booker T came out on top with a 24-22 win over the Bruins. This is what coach Schreppel had to say about this loss: “A thing to harp on is just the little things and tonight we started slow. We just got to pick up the intensity from the get-go for the next game.”

Defensive Victory for the Bruin JV 8-6

Written by: Jacob Briggs

On Monday September 18th, the junior varsity of Bartlesville High School went against the Collinsville Cardinals. In the beginning the offense set up the tone for the rest of the game. With only four minutes in Harrison Ketchum caught a 38-yard touchdown, but that's not all as they lined up to go for two and were successful. Bruins held the score 8 to 0 for the majority of the game. This ended up not being much of an offensive game, as the defense came alive. Our defense caused multiple turnovers, multiple sacks, and not to mention an interception. It wasn't until the final two minutes of the game that the Collinsville Cardinals had a QB sneak for the touchdown, but our defense was too strong and stopped the two point conversion as the clock winded down to the final minute. The Bruins were the winners here in cluster field, eight to six, and in the words of Coach DeBose "I think they played great, physical, and hard not to mention Julian Uribe did fantastic".

Sorrowful Loss for The Bruins 27-14

Written by: Veronica McGill

This last Friday, September 14th, the Bartlesville Bruins played their third game of the season with an upsetting loss against the Collinsville Cardinals. The Bruins were ready for an exhilarating challenge at their first away game and with multiple injured players nervousness filled the air. Opening the game in the first quarter the Bruins fought hard and broke out with an early lead. However, the lead was unfortunately taken away by the Cardinals soon after, beginning halftime with a score of 20-7. The bruin crowd were on their feet and passionately cheering throughout the game. The real battle began in the second half. The Bruins had outstanding defence holding the cardinals, and in the final minutes The Bruins were able to narrow the cardinal lead with astonishing offense bringing the score to 20-14. Although, with only a singular immense stop the bruins came up short and lost the game 27-14. Only the 3rd game in the season and multiple games to go, the Bruins can rise up for the next challenge and show their true strength.

Bruins Fall To Sapulpa 44-36

Written by: Jacob Briggs

Another heartbreaking defeat for our Bruins on our home turf. It was a hard-fought loss. No one can take away from the fact that the defense was stellar, creating multiple third downs and even generating turnovers on 4th. Not to mention on offense Damien Niko and PJ Wallace, with these monumental players earning more than half of the touchdowns. Well let's not overstate the fact that we were down 14 to 36 at our lowest score and we still managed to make it all the way back to 36-36. In the end it just wasn't enough. Coach Wright, the head football coach, said "They played hard and I'm proud of the way the kids played they just got to find a way to finish."

Heartbreaking loss for the Bruins 28-27

Written by: Tanner Yardley

Last night the Bartlesville Bruins faced off the Claremore Zebras. Going into the game, the Bruins were ready to win and get a good start to their season. Coach Wright, the Bruins head coach, said “They have done the work, they put in the time, now it’s time to see what they can do.” The game was back and forth the whole night with many ups and downs. At halftime, the Bruins discovered that their starting Quarterback, #7 Nate Neal broke his collarbone and will be out for a while. They had to change their game plan and put in their backup, #2 Brett Eaves. With the game on his shoulders going into the 2nd half of the season opener, he was ready to win the game. With the help of PJ Wallace and Damein Niko, they got the score to 21 to 14 Claremore. Although Claremore was on top, the tides were changing in the game as the Bruins continued to stop the Zebras’ offense. Getting closer and closer to the end of the game, Bartlesville got the lead to 27-21 in the fourth quarter. In the final minutes, Claremore had one more chance to win the game and ended up scoring the winning touchdown.. The final score was 28-27. After the game, Coach Ketiku said, “We have to stick to the game plan, a few bumps and a few mishaps. We are going to correct a few things and come back better.” Even though it was not the best way to start out their season, Bartlesville still has a whole season ahead of them.