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Tuscola blasts Mustangs behind Brosius’ passing
Tyler Brosius attempted only 10 passes Friday, but he completed eight of them for 237 yards and four touchdowns, leading Tuscola to a 56-7 rout of Smoky Mountain at Carr Hooper Stadium/Babe Howell Field.
Dakota Brown had three catches for 140 yards and two TDs.
Josh Adams was the leading rusher for the Mountaineers with 68 yards in just four carries.
The Mustangs (1-5) made a change at quarterback with Logan Buchanan moving under center while previous starter Colton Hunt lined up as a running back or wide receiver.
Buchanan completed six of 24 passes for 115 yards. He gained 88 yards on the ground in 19 carries.
Chad Harper picks up yardage for Smoky Mountain in Friday’s 56-7 homecoming loss to Tuscola. – Photo by Jarrett Frazier
Quarterback Logan Buchanan scores Smoky Mountain’s lone touchdown in the first quarter of Friday’s 56-7 homecoming loss to Tuscola. – Photo by Jarrett Frazier
All of the completions went to Hunt.
SM moved the ball much of the night and finished with 309 yards of total offense and 19 first downs despite scoring only once.
Meanwhile, Tuscola’s balanced attack resulted in 456 total yards.
The Mounties scored on all six of their first-half possessions in rolling to a 42-7 lead and spoiling homecoming for the Mustangs.
SM’s problems started on the opening kickoff when Joe Kiker recovered Jesse Walker’s fumble at the 12. Brosius scored from a yard out three plays later. Leo Gamez kicked the first of his eight extra points for a 7-0 advantage just 59 seconds into the game.
The Mustangs responded with a 73-yard drive in 12 plays. Buchanan hit Hunt for 26 yards on the first play, and the pair hooked up for a 25-yard gain later in the march. Buchanan’s 3-yard TD run and Matt Dougherty’s extra point produced a 7-7 tie with 6:19 to play in the first quarter.
SM had a chance to take the lead when Hunt recovered an onside kick at the Tuscola 40. The Mustangs reached the 19 before being stopped on downs.
On the next play, Brosius found Brown wide open over the middle, and he raced 81 yards to the end zone for a 14-7 lead with 3:45 to go in the opening period.
A 15-yard pass from Brosius to Lane Hambrick was followed by Adams’ 33-yard TD run making it 21-7 with 21 seconds remaining in the first stanza. The 55-yard drive took five plays.
After stopping the Mustangs on a fake punt at the SM 42, the Mounties needed five plays to score. Adams had consecutive runs of 15 and 19 yards before Brosius tossed a 4-yard TD pass to Jared Ensley extending the margin to 28-7 with 8:39 to play in the half.
Tuscola took just three plays to score after starting from the Mustang 47 following a punt. Brosius hit Sage Frady for 11 yards then found Brown for a 34-yard TD pass building the lead to 35-7 at the 6:22 mark.
The Mounties’ final possession of the half covered 84 yards in four plays. Austin Chambers had a 10-yard run with the TD coming on Brosius’ 64-yard pass to Brody Medford for a 42-7 margin with 2:09 on the clock.
SM reached the Tuscola 22 before time expired thanks to Buchanan’s 17-yard run and his passes of 19 and 15 yards to Hunt.
The Mountaineer offense finally did something wrong on the opening possession of the second half when Corey Sweeney fumbled with Elliot Hooper recovering at the Mustang 36.
Tuscola got the ball back two plays later at its 45 when Adams picked off Buchanan’s pass. Aided by a penalty, the Mounties scored three plays later on a 26-yard run by Chambers for a 49-7 lead with 7:13 to play in the third period.
SM put together a drive from its 20 to the Tuscola 1 after the kickoff. Buchanan had a run of 19 yards and completed passes of 10 and 20 yards to Hunt. The latter converted a fourth-and-5 from the 26. The Mustangs were stopped for no gain on fourth-and-goal from the 1 on the opening play of the fourth quarter.
SM forced a punt but gave the ball back when Medford intercepted Buchanan’s pass and returned it 50 yards to the Mustang 26.
Dustin Messer carried on five straight plays, including a 15-yard run, before scoring the game’s final TD from the 2 with six minutes to play.
Runs of 12 yards by Thomas French and 10 yards by Ben Blanton helped SM reached the Mountaineer 20 before yielding possession on downs.
Hooper, Buchanan and Chad Harper were all in on eight tackles for the Mustangs while Hunt had a hand in seven.
Tuscola SM
16 First Downs 19
33-219 Rushes-Yds. 50-194
8-10-0 Passing 6-24-2
237 Passing Yds. 115
1-40.0 Punts-Avg. 3-34.7
1-1 Fumbles-Lost 4-1
8-52 Penalties-Yds. 2-20
Tuscola 21 21 7 7 56
SM 7 0 0 0 7
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