Bears Are Undisputed State Champions
Sunday, October 13, 2013
Brown senior quarterback Patrick Donnelly (Longmeadow, MA) threw for a career high 339 yards and four touchdowns to lead the Bears to a 41-14 win over Bryant, in the first ever meeting between the two Ocean State teams. The win extends the Bears' record to 3-1 overall and gives coach Phil Estes' team its ninth straight non-league victory, dating back to 2011. Bryant falls to 3-3 on the season.
Brown's Jordan Evans had two touchdown grabs against the Bulldogs Saturday. (photo courtesy of Brownbears.com)
Donnelly, who played just three quarters, completed 23 of 31 passes for 339 yards, and threw touchdown passes of 34, 55, 14 and 22 yards. His previous career passing best was 336 yards against Harvard in 2012.
Senior wide receiver Tellef Lundevall (Highland Park, IL) caught seven passes for 112 yards and a touchdown, while senior wide receiver Jordan Evans (Brentwood, TN) had five receptions for 108 yards and a touchdown.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTOverall, Brown accumulated 505 yards of total offense, 166 rushing and 339 passing. Senior tailback John Spooney (Northfield, OH) led the Bears with 60 yards rushing, all in the opening quarter.
After Bryant scored on its first two possessions, Brown's defense stiffened and held the Bulldogs scoreless for the remainder of the game, covering 53 minutes and 12 seconds. including a goal line stand in the game's waning moments.
"We really wanted that stop at the end of the game," said Estes. "It enables us to go into the next game (Princeton) with a good defensive effort and some momentum."
The leader of the defensive effort was junior defensive back Eric Armagost (Fayetteville, GA), who came up from the secondary to make 10 tackles, including eight solo hits.
"Eric played like a man on a mission," said Estes. "He played physically and broke up a lot of plays."
The Bears' defense had 11 tackles for a loss, including six quarterback sacks. Senior linebacker Ade Oyalowo (Bowie, MD) had two tackles for a loss, including one quarterback sack, and four solo tackles overall.
Bryant struck first after the Bears fumbled the game's opening kick-off, taking over at the Bears' 18 yard line. Three plays later, Tyler McIntyre ran in from the three yard line, giving the Bulldogs a 7-0 advantage.
Brown didn't wait long to even up the game, 7-7, scoring on its first offensive possession in the opening quarter. Spooney racked-up 28 yards on the ground in the 73 yard scoring drive, and the Bears got into the end zone on a 34-yard pass from Donnelly to Evans.
The Bulldogs answered on their next possession, driving 81 yards on eight plays to take a 14-7 lead, with Ryan Black scoring on a 15 yard run at the 8:12 mark of the first quarter.
The offense onslaught continued with Brown knotting up the score, 14-14, just 1:44 later. Donnelly connected on a 55-yard touchdown pass to Lundevall, who hauled in the pass at the Bulldogs 30 yard line, broke a tackle and ran down the sideline into the end zone.
The Bears defense got its first stop of the game, forcing a Bryant punt, thanks to a tackle in the offensive backfield by Oyalowo on a third and two at midfield.
Brown took over deep in its own territory and drove down to the Bulldog' seven yard line before settling for a field goal, taking the lead for good, 17-14, on a 23-yard boot by senior Alex Norocea (Hermosa Beach, CA).
Donnelly threw his third touchdown of the afternoon, connecting on a 14 yard scoring pass to Evans. Evans caught the pass in the middle of the field, bounced off a couple of Bryant defenders and powered his way into the end zone to give the Bears a 24-14 lead with 13:33 left in the half.
The Bears struck again, this time finishing off a 51-yard scoring drive on a one yard touchdown run by senior Jordan Reisner (Highland Park, IL) with 7:20 remaining, giving Brown a 31-14 advantage.
Norocea booted his second field goal of the game, this time a 38-yard boot with five seconds left in the half, to give the Bears a 34-14 lead at intermission. Brown finished the half with points on each of its six possessions, while accumulating 355 total yards.
Brown ate up the clock in the third quarter and extended its lead to 41-14 when Donnelly connected with junior Reiley Higgins (Coto de Caza, CA) for his fourth touchdown pass of the day with 2:02 left in the quarter.
Brown returns to Ivy League action again next Saturday, October 19, hosting Princeton under the lights at Brown Stadium. The game will be televised live on Fox College Sports, with kick-off scheduled for 6:00 pm.
