H.S. Football: Brookside beats Wellington, finishes with two straight wins

WELLINGTON — A scoring explosion in the final minutes of the first half was enough to lift Brookside over Wellington 28-18 in the season finale, giving the Cardinals their second straight win after starting the year on an eight-game losing streak. Wellington (3-7, 1-6 Lorain County League) outgained Brookside (2-8, 2-5) on the ground and through the air, but Wellington was bogged down by penalties and turnovers, and Brookside struck when it counted to take advantage. Wellington started hot, when junior Landon Beall ripped off a 79-yard run on the Dukes' first play from scrimmage, and quarterback Gaven Wacker found senior Deaken Wirth in the end zone to put Wellington on the board first. The Cardinals offense, on the other hand, started with two turnovers on downs and then three punts, but Wellington was unable to capitalize and left open the door when a fumbled punt attempt gave Brookside the ball at the Wellington 22 yard-line. A Dukes penalty kept the drive alive, and Cardinals quarterback Mason Waechter threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to running back Trevor Kitzberger. On Wellington's next possession, Wirth fumbled the ball right into the hands of defensive back Elijah Lopez, who returned it 75 yards for a touchdown with under a minute to go before half. With the momentum firmly swung in Brookside's favor, coach Scott O'Donnell decided to press his luck in a big way when a 15-yard personal foul against Wellington was added to the kickoff. O'Donnell called over his son, kicker Tyler, and called for an onside kick. The gamble paid off in a big way, as Brookside recovered the ball and Waechter took just 25 seconds to find the end zone again, this time hitting Colton Casey for a 25-yard score on fourth down. "That was a big call, we got that yardage and I called my son back to kick that and take advantage," the elder O'Donnell said. "We got it and that was a big play in the game." Wellington was able to get its passing attack going in the second half, with two long touchdowns for Wacker, but Brookside did enough to ride its scoring burst to victory. Dukes coach Rob Howells said that the story of the game had been repeated throughout the season, with his team hampered by turnovers and penalties. Unlike in prior games, though, Howells placed some of the blame for that on the referees, whom he said penalized Wellington players for defending themselves against aggression. Wellington was hit with 125 penalty yards to Brookside's 55 yards. Despite the Senior Night loss, Howells said he was proud of how his team battled Friday and over the course of the year. "You have got to celebrate the kids that fight hard and leave it all out here," Howells said. "That is what it is about, especially on senior Night. That is what this senior class is all about, they have been doubted every year and they are just a bunch of workers that grind. I think the preseason polls wouldn't have even given us three wins, and we found a way to get that." O'Donnell also celebrated the fight of his team, which he said easily could have given up after losing eight games to start the year. "It is awesome, I am so proud of them," he said. "I'm proud of the seniors most importantly, in leading us all the way. When you're 0-8 guys can just throw it in and go, but they didn't do that. They battled it out through the year and I'm proud of those guys and the whole team."