A sign in the Elks’ locker room reads: 5 or 6 plays determine the outcome of every game. On Friday, the aforementioned Elks were responsible for at least four crucial plays and Wakilongo rushed for 192 yards in a 38-24 victory over Fairfield.
Bruder came to the party early. He caught a 21-yard touchdown pass from Harrison (9 of 19, 174 yards) for the game’s first score. After Fairfield sophomore quarterback Talon Fisher threw a 61-yard TD pass to Nate Hannah and ran for a 19-yard score, Bruder made the defensive play of the game.
Fisher overthrew a receiver in the middle of the field and Bruder intercepted the pass and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown and a 14-14 tie at the half.
“I just come out and try to be a team player every day, help my teammates out however I can, and if the ball’s coming my way, I just try to make a play,” Bruder said.
Bruder is the rare two-way player in Division I. He caught five passes for 51 yards and made six tackles.
“We knew he was good on offense, and he’s a great complement to what we have, and there’s definitely a chemistry developing with Harrison,” Ullery said. “On defense he’s just everywhere. Last year he was just a role player, now he’s a game changer.”
Fairfield outgained Centerville 201-117 in the half, but some ill-timed penalties and two receivers running into each other on a sure touchdown contributed to the tie score.
“Look back at the first half and we did a lot of uncharacteristic things that gave them opportunities,” Fairfield coach Jason Krause said. “They’re a good football team, but there’s some things we need to go back and fix.”
Fairfield seemed to reassert control in the third quarter with an opening eight-minute drive, but a false start in the red zone forced the Indians to settle for a 26-yard Aiden McGuire field goal and a 17-14 lead.
Wakilongo was fashionably late to the party. He ran for only 54 yards in the first half.
“He wasn’t part of the game plan in the first half, but when he got his opportunity, he took it and ran with it, literally,” Ullery said. “That was impressive. And huge credit to his offensive line.”
Two plays after Fairfield’s go-ahead field goal, Wakilongo broke free for a 67-yard touchdown to turn the momentum in the Elks’ favor. After Jackson Courville kicked a 47-yard field goal, Wakilongo ran eight yards for a touchdown and a 31-17 lead.
Will Wakilongo be in the game plan next week at Mason?
“I would be stupid if he wasn’t,” Ullery said. “It’s nice to have game changers surface rather than have to lean on the ones that you already know.”
Bruder wasn’t completely surprised by Wakilongo’s performance
“I want to say yes, but I really can’t,” Bruder said. “He comes out here and works his butt off every day, and it showed out on the field tonight.”
The known ones – Harrison and Smith – executed the final surprise.
After Fisher ran 7 yards for a touchdown to cut the Elks’ lead to 31-24 with 3:11 left, the Elks soon faced third-and-3. The safe thing would have been to run. If you make it great. If not punt it away and make the Indians drive 70 or 80 yards with about 2:40 left.
But receivers coach Dan Kerns told Ullery the deep throw would be open. So Harrison, who has committed to play at Marshall, hit Smith, his top target last year, in stride down the middle for a 61-yard touchdown and a 14-point lead with 2:39 left. Smith caught the ball between three Indians, and they all fell trying to tackle him.
“That was impressive,” Ullery said. “I’ll let Kerns call a few more plays next week.”
Fisher completed 22 of 41 passes for 297 yards and rushed for 74 yards on 18 carries. As a freshman, he rushed for 915 yards and passed for 401 yards in a 2-7 season.
“Obviously he’s throwing the football much better, and that really helps our offense be a little bit more balanced,” Krause said. “I thought they did a good job of playing his read-pull stuff, and he didn’t really get loose like he did last year.”
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