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Sports

Defense Leads Brashear Against Taylor Allderdice This Weekend

The Bulls and Dragons each won their opening City League opener last week.

As the old saying goes, offense sells tickets and defense wins championships.  If that’s the case for the Pittsburgh City League, then Brashear should be the favorite to win the conference after their 22-13 victory over University Prep last Thursday.

The Bulls won the game without scoring an offensive touchdown, something they have yet to do all season. 

It was on the defensive side of the ball where they did all their damage, scoring three touchdowns on their way to their first win of the season.

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“We knew UPrep was going to be a challenge and the defense answered with a huge performance,” head coach Rick Murphy said this week.  “A defensive score is a game-changing play and to get three in the same night is something that doesn’t happen very often.”

Last Thursday’s victory was a strong response to their season-opening 36-0 loss to Knoch.  Brashear’s offense has yet to score a touchdown this season, something that Murphy and the coaching staff is concerned about.

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“We’ve blown some opportunities and missed assignments, but we’ve also played against some very good defenses.  We knew early on we were going to have to rely on defense and our skill players to get us threw a tough opening schedule.”

That’s exactly what the defense has done so far this year, forcing turnovers and taking advantage of opposing offenses’ mistakes.  Led by linebackers Tre Gaines, Joel Nesbit, Jawanz Bryant and Desaun Roberts, as well as Marlin Jackson, the Bulls are putting a lot of pressure on the opposing quarterback, while Manny Reed and Jamil Smith are forming one of the better cornerback tandems in the area.

Brashear will look to improve to 2-0 at home this season as they host the Taylor Allderdice Dragons this Friday, who are coming off an impressive 35-0 victory of Oliver last week.

“They’re a solid team,” Murphy said.  “They’re big up front, they have a strong running game, and they play very good defense.  It’ll be a challenge for us.”

The combination of a strong opposing defense facing off against a struggling Bulls’ offense may seem problematic for Brashear, but Murphy is confident his team is up to the challenge.

“Our line is young, but we have some kids up there that we believe will develop as the season progresses.  They guys will continue to work and hopefully we grow each week and begin to make plays and eliminate mistakes.”

Both teams enter Friday’s contest at Cupples Stadium with a 1-0 record in the City League standings, making this an even more enticing matchup.  Despite the fact that this is only the second league game of the season for each team, the Bulls are aware of how crucial these wins can be at the end of the season.

“Getting a win against a quality opponent shows our kids that they can play with anyone,” Murphy said.  “Opening up league play with a win over UPrep was a big step toward getting to our goal of winning the conference title.  With a win this weekend, we’d be one step closer.”

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