Brophy put the high school football world on notice Friday.
The No. 3 Broncos and their prolific offense held off visiting Anthem Boulder Creek 45-33 at Phoenix College.
“We have a lot of weapons,” coach Scooter Molander said. “Our receivers ran good routes and offensive line protected well.”
Brophy (2-0) put pressure on Boulder Creek (1-1) throughout, including a touchdown pass from Tyler Bruggman to Devon Allen for 59 yards to put the Broncos up 35-13 with 9:14 left in the third quarter.
But the Jaguars wouldn’t go quietly.
Boulder Creek mustered two scoring drives that were capped by Trevor Bonifasi. The quarterback first scrambled for an 18-yard score and then capped a 15-play, 91-yard drive with a bruising 3-yard run to cut the Brophy lead to 35-26 with 1:38 left in the third.
The energy was shifting but Brophy’s offense answered with a seven-play drive that resulted in a 31-yard Zach Hudson field goal to give the Broncos a 38-26 lead with 11:15 left.
“I am proud of our kids bouncing back," Molander said. "They got the momentum there for awhile and we kept coming. Our conditioning was a big factor tonight.”
The pressure didn’t get to Boulder Creek as Bonifasi ripped off a 64-yard run to tighten the game to 38-33 with 9:31 left.
But Brophy showed its mettle once again. D’Amani Grayer carried three times and capped the game-clinching drive with a 1-yard score to increase the lead to 45-33 with 8:22 left.
“The offensive line handled their job with a great push,” Grayer said. “(Our offense) just does whatever it takes to get points.”
Grayer helped build the early lead with two first-half rushing touchdowns of 14 and 5 yards. He carried the ball 17 times for 134 yards.
“Grayer not only had speed but he had power and vision and pass protected well,” Molander said.
The final stats calculate like a Madden video game.
Bruggman spread the ball around to his passing corps, completing 16-of-26 passes for 233 yards and three touchdown passes.
Freddie Gammage caught six passes for 115 yards including two first-quarter scoring strikes of 11 and 19 yards.
Boulder Creek had one last gasp but Bonifasi’s fourth-down pass fell incomplete at the Brophy 31. The Broncos took over and ran out the final four minutes.
