UNITED STANDS TALL OVER BROOKFIELD
By Ty Bartell
HANOVERTON OH- The first week of the high school football playoffs in the state of Ohio is officially in the books and there were countless area matchups that provided plenty of entertainment in the first round. One of those matchups occurred between a pair of YSN schools in Division 6, Region 21 with the #4 seeded United Golden Eagles (9-1) hosting the #13 seeded Brookfield Warriors (5-5).
Brookfield started with possession early, but a fumble that was recovered by United with 9:30 left in the first quarter set up a 45-yard pass from Luke Courtney to Parker Newburn, flipping field position. Getting on the right side of the 50 yard line, translated into a 6-yard touchdown QB draw from Courtney to give Untied the 7-0 lead with 6:51 in the first quarter. The remainder of the opening quarter would be scoreless, until, with 11 minutes left in the second, The Warriors’ Kaiden Kirila blocked a punt that enabled a 39-yard touchdown return from Rico Smith to tie the game up 7-7! United would get the last laugh in the first half, getting into the red zone and scoring with, yet another, QB draw from Luke COurtney to put The Golden Eagles up 14-7 at halftime!
United would open up the scoring in the second half as well, with 5:35 in the third quarter, Luke Courtney nailed a 30-yard field goal to put The Eagles up by double digits at 17-7. The Warriors would not go away as the very next kickoff saw Rico Smith return it 55 yards to the house to cut into the deficit, trimming the United lead to 17-14. The final score came from The Eagles Luke Courtney on a 47-yard QB draw for a touchdown to retake the double digit lead at 24-14. A pair of United interceptions from Parker Newburn, his second of the day, and Logan Castro, iced the game for The Golden Eagles at 24-14!
Luke Courtney was Mr. Do-All as he was responsible for all the points in the United win with a passing touchdown, 2 rushing touchdowns and a field goal. United (10-1) will now play the #5 seeded Cuyahoga Heights Red Wolves (9-1) on Friday, November 3rd with a 7 p.m. kickoff! Stay updated with all United Golden Eagle athletics stats, scores, stories and more on YSN!