Bees shut out Salem

By Ted Allen

Published: September 5, 2008

SALEM — Brookville ended Salem’s 35-game regular-season winning streak and dealt the Spartans their first shutout loss in 153 games — dating back to 1996 when coach Jeff Woody helped the Bees blank them 21-0 as a senior receiver — with a 14-0 triumph Friday night at Salem Stadium.

Sparked by running back Stacy Houston, who rushed 19 times for 143 yards and both touchdowns, Brookville (3-0) eliminated some of the Salem mystique that has made it almost unbeatable at home.

“The guys worked hard, we communicated well on the sidselines, everybody kept their composure, we got up, stayed level-headed ... and the result was a 14-0 win,” Woody said.

After the Bees’ defense stopped Salem with a clutch goal-line stand early in the fourth quarter, Houston dug them out of a hole with his 57-yard run up the right sideline on third-and-10 from the 1.

“That was nice,” said Houston, who was just hoping to buy Dylan Tordoff a little more room to punt out of his end zone. “A little more conditioning and a little more practice and I would have been gone.”

Houston, a 5-foot-7 tailback who sat out with a shoulder injury after his first carry in last week’s win over Tunstall, returned to the form he showed as a junior when he rushed for 1,300 yards and 20 touchdowns, thanks to a shoulder brace he was able to grab just before the team bus left Lynchburg.

“My shoulder’s dislocated and popped out a little bit and that brace holds it in pretty good,” said Houston, who used his powerful legs to bounce off tackles and his exceptional speed to accelerate into the secondary.

The Bees rushed for 250 yards while holding the Spartans (1-1) to just 110, and 130 yards of total offense.

“They were pretty tough on the front, pretty solid and had good technique, but we played a better game,” Brookville lineman Devon Bolling said. “We were able to open up holes pretty good and get Stacy that extra seam and be gone.”

The goal-line stand was the turning point, three plays after Salem quarterback Derrick Hickman’s 60-yard run on third-and-10. He was finally dragged down from behind by Mikel Washington at the Bees’ 6-yard line before the defense held Antonio Medley, Kirk Coles, Hickman and Stephen Barnette to five and a half yards on the next four plays.

“The defense once again, for the third week stepped up, and hopefully they’re making a name for themselves,” Woody said.

Salem coach Stephen Magenbauer credited Brookville for controlling the line of scrimmage, a rare feat against his normally stout front five.

“We never moved the ball consistently,” he said. “We had one big play and they held us on downs in there, which was really key for them to keep the momentum in their favor.”

Bees quarterback Logan Thomas said the road victory, like the Bees’ season-opening 24-21 win at Amherst, should benefit them down the road.

“It was a great atmosphere to play in to get us prepared for down the road when we get into the playoffs,” he said. “The defense played a phenomenal game. That front line of Zach Burns, Michael Leeman, Mikel Washington, Ben Simmons, just shut it down. They did a great job of stopping the run.”

“Give credit to the defensive line,” Woody added. “You’ve got Cory Patterson, Jarrett Bateman in at defensive tackle, those two positions don’t get a lot of glory, but they did a good job of controlling the line of scrimmage.”

In Brookville’s spread attack, it is essential that Thomas distributes the football to his backs and receivers with space to work with, or finds running room for himself.

That is never easy against Salem, which plays extremely fundamental defense, with textbook technique and reckless pursuit.

But the Bees found some soft spots in the Spartans’ defense, and took advantage of it early.

Thomas engineered a 14-play, 83-yard drive capped by a 12-yard pass play to slot receiver Lorenzo Smith and a 2-yard touchdown run by Houston with 3:13 left in the first quarter.

Houston had rushes of 12- and 11-yards on that drive and Thomas shouldered his share of the load, picking up first downs with a 5-yard pickup on third-and-inches from his 27 and a 10-yard keeper on second-and-4 from Salem’s 25.

He then found Smith wide open for a screen pass on the right side. Given room to operate, Smith got outside before being taken down at the 2-yard line, setting up Houston’s run.

Houston reached the end zone again late in the third quarter, on the first play after Jay Graham intercepted Hickman’s pass from his own end zone at the Spartans’ 35. He found a seam through the right side of the line and used his explosiveness to get outside before turning on his speed and skirting the sideline inside the right pylon.

“I’m glad he showed up tonight,” Woody said of Houston. “He’s been banged up and he came out and it’s only going to improve. That offensive line is playing well and if Stacy gets into a rhythm with them, the sky’s the limit.”

This was the last game in the 13-year series between the Spartans and the Bees, with Salem picking up Franklin County on next season’s schedule and Brookville adding Seminole District newcomer E.C. Glass. Salem had won eight of the previous 12, including the last five in a row since Brookville’s six-overtime win in 2002.