Bedford makes plays down the stretch to hold off Monroe

TEMPERANCE – Pay no attention to the final score.

This game was much closer than what the scoreboard showed after the final horn.

Photo Gallery:Friday night football photos

Monroe put a big scare into Bedford Friday night before the Mules took control late in the fourth quarter and celebrated their Homecoming with a 28-14 victory over the Trojans.

Coach John Phillips’ favored Bedford team dominated the game statistically but made too many mistakes in the first half and Monroe took advantage of them.

The game was tied at the end of each of the first three quarters.

Tyler Boerst’s 27-yard touchdown run broke a 14-14 tie and gave Bedford the lead for good one minute into the fourth quarter.

Monroe got the ball back with four minutes left and had a great chance to tie the game a third time. Ryan Sieler threw a would-be 91-yard scoring pass to Aidan Brodie, but officials ruled the receiver stepped out of bounds near midfield.

The Trojans then drove to Bedford’s 39-yard line, but senior defensive end Thomas Huss forced a fumble, Luke Davis recovered and Hunter Poignon put the game on ice with a 9-yard run, his second touchdown of the night.

Huss had a big night defensively with three sacks, but no play was bigger than his forced fumble.

“I dove for the ball and just punched it out,” Huss said.

He was not surprised with how close the game was, saying, “It’s a rivalry. Both teams come out with their best game of the year.”

Bedford improves to 4-2 overall and is 3-2 in the Southeastern Conference Red Division. Monroe slipped to 2-3 in the league and 2-4 overall.

The injury-depleted Trojans should have been reeling after back-to-back shutout losses to undefeated SEC teams.

“Our kids fought hard and battled really well,” said first-year Monroe coach Dave Mifsud. “We made some great plays. We just weren’t able to pull it out at the end. We’re really close. He (Brodie) stepped like an inch out of bounds on his run. Their No. 2 was a heck of a player.”

He was referring to Bedford senior running back Trey Brueggemann, who rushed for 215 yards on 20 carries, including a 64-yard scoring run in the second quarter.

Mifsud liked the play of his defensive unit, mentioning Makhi Hyden, Breylon Richards, Nathan Venier, and Roman Beck.

After a scoreless first quarter, Bedford scored first on Poignon’s 1-yard plunge. But the Mules picked up a personal foul penalty after the touchdown, giving Monroe a short field after the kickoff.

The Trojans drove 52 yards and tied the game 7-7 on Logan Loveland’s 4-yard run.

It took only two plays for Bedford to regain the lead on Brueggemann’s 64-yard touchdown run through the middle of the line. This time the Mules picked up an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after the TD.

They had to kick off from their 25, Loveland returned the kick 44 yards to the Mule 28 and Sieler found Brodie with a touchdown pass to deadlock the game 14-14 at halftime.

The Mules also saw two drives end in Monroe territory after coughing up fumbles. Michael Burns and Hayden Wood recovered for the Trojans.

“We made too many mistakes,” said Bedford coach John Phillips. “Our game plan in the second half was to clean things up. We’ve had a problem finishing this year. There’s a lot of distractions this week (with Homecoming). We only got on this field two days this week because of all the events going on. The other days we had to use our soccer field.”

The Mules piled up 301 yards on the ground and had 326 total yards compared to Monroe’s 117.

Phillips said the play of Huss was instrumental in shutting the Trojans down.

Bedford replaced sophomore starting quarterback Lucas Gerber with freshman Brody Leonhard midway through the third quarter.

“We just wanted to see if a change would inspire the team,” Phillips said.

Monroe quarterback Sieler was shaken up under heavy pressure in the second quarter. Backup Aiden Newton came in for one play and completed a 17-yard pass to Gandara.

Second Quarter

B-Hunter Poignon 1 run (Jack Decker kick)

M-Logan Loveland 4 run (Nicholas Lieto kick)

B-Trey Brueggemann 64 run (Decker kick)

M-Aidan Brodie 29 pass from Ryan Sieler (Lieto kick)

Fourth Quarter

B-Tyler Boerst 27 run (Decker kick)

B-Poignon 9 run (Decker kick)

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

Rushing: Trey Brueggemann, B, 20-215; Dinato Gandara, M, 12-71; Tyler Boerst, B, 8-66.

Passing: Ryan Sieler, M, 7-13-76; Aiden Newton, M, 1-1-17; Lucas Gerber, B, 3-3-14; Brody Leonhard, B, 1-1-11.

Receiving: Aidan Brodie, M, 4-77; Dinato Gandara, M, 1-17; Trey Brueggemann, B, 1-11.

This article originally appeared on The Monroe News: Bedford makes plays down the stretch to hold off Monroe