By Staff
Lindsay Vaught, Sports Correspondent
How can a team get five turnovers from an opponent and still lose the game 41-0?
Brewer showed it can be done Friday night in the Patriots home opener against region foe Cullman. Brewer falls to 0-3 while 10th ranked Cullman is 3-0.
Cullman, who boasts possibly the region's toughest defense, posted their second shutout of the season. Junior linebacker Justin Britt roamed free all night. At 6-5, 255 pounds he towers over his teammates and opponents alike. Britt was in on 7 tackles and swatted down a pass. He also had a 2-yard touchdown run on offense.
Cullman scored on a Zayne Smith 7-yard run with 9:42 remaining in the first quarter to cap a 5-play, 72-yard drive. Joseph McPhillips added the first of four extra points for a 7-0 lead. Brewer's Josh Cavender stopped Cullman's next drive with an interception on fourth down at the Brewer 5-yard line. Cullman struck again early in the second quarter on a 38-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Josh Phillips to Smith. Cullman also had two first half touchdowns called back on block-in-the-back penalties.
Brewer's Tony Parise found some running lanes in Cullman's defense, finishing with 77 yards on 15 carries.
Travis Boyd and Samuel Mason split the quarterbacking duties. Boyd hit 6 of 10 passes for 40 yards, while Mason, running the option offense, completed one pass for 3 yards but had two costly sacks. Nine penalties for 95 yards also hampered Brewer.
Brewer Coach Robert Peppers was upbeat despite the loss.
"We had a plan to run the football, and we ran it well but we'd have a big run then a penalty," he said. "It's hard for us to overcome big penalties. I saw some positives in our blocking and the way Tony ran. I was disappointed in our defense, but Cullman had a lot to do with that.
See BREWER, B-4