Brooke welcomes North Marion needing to bounce back
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WELLSBURG -- The Brooke football team is looking to bounce back this week against undefeated North Marion.
Brooke enters this week coming off loss to University, while North Marion is coming off a shut out victory against Oak Glen. Kick off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. Friday night on Paul "Bud" Billiard Field inside Brooke Memorial Stadium.
The Bruins were doomed by a rough first half as the Hawks came away with a 42-13 victory this past Friday night at home.
"Turnovers played a major role," Brooke (2-1) head coach Mac McLean said. "We had five turnovers in the first half. We had four turnovers inside the 30.
"Our defense held out for as long as it could. You are going to have break downs eventually."
The game is the first meeting between the Bruins and Huskies in a number of years.
"We have not played them in awhile," McLean said. "We used to have a good rivalry with them back in the day. We played them in the playoffs when I played."
North Marion opened the season by defeating East Fairmont, 40-19, before defeating Preston, 34-10.
"They are an old school North Marion team," McLean said. "They run the ball well. The have the horses to shove the ball down your throat."
The Huskies limited the Golden Bears to just 40 yards of rushing in their victory last week. Oak Glen did not complete a pass in the loss.
"Defensively, they are ultra aggressive," McLean said. "They are pretty impressive. There is a reason they are 3-0."
Brooke matches up well size-wise with North Marion.
"In our first four games, I think their size is the most comparable to us," McLean said. "Ripley had some big guys. University had some big guys. Indian Creek has some big guys, but they are young. They are going to be hard to handle when they grow up. North Marion is a little bigger than us."
While the Huskies have some big guys on the roster, they do not have a ton of speed.
"North Marion is not super fast," McLean said. "They have a couple wide receivers who can stretch the field. Both of their quarterbacks can throw the ball."
The visitors will look to use their size to advantage as they will try to run the ball against the Green-and-Gold.
"They don't throw the ball a ton," McLean said. "They are going to have a little bit of balance.
"University has those big chunks plays. Mike Tomlin calls those 'big splash plays.' They can hit those.
"You make two nice plays, and they are in a 4th-and-18 and they hit one for 40 yards."
The Bruins are going to need a strong showing from their defense to come away with a win this week.
"We are going to have to keep playing good defense," McLean said. "I think we have been playing very well defensively. We have struggled a bit on offense with Braelyn out.
"I am proud of both of our quarterbacks. Hunter Mozingo played most of the game at quarterback last week. Garrett Hornick came in and led a couple of scoring drives. I expect you are going to see both quarterbacks. One is better runner and one is a better passer."
Brooke opened the season by defeating Ripley, 49-6, and Indian Creek, 21-7 before losing to University.