Brewer’s captains in their game against Grissom Friday night were, from left, Brendon DeBerry, Nick Humphries, Tyler Chavers and Kolton Bramlett. Brewer lost to Grissom 28-21 after an early lead. | Clif Knight

Brewer’s Patriots scored on three of their four first half possessions and led 21-20 at half time before losing 28-21 to Grissom’s Tigers in a football jamboree at home Friday night.

The contest was decided late in the third quarter when the Tigers scored on a 31-yard quarterback   option play and tacked on a two-point conversion to extend their lead to seven points.

Brewer reserves came close to pulling the game out of the fire on their last possession. They marched 42 yards on six plays and reached the 23-yard line before turning the ball over on an intercepted Hail Mary pass at the three-yard line with eight seconds left.

The Patriots, aided by four Grissom penalties, marched 64 yards on nine plays and went up 7-0 with 9:23 left in the first period. RB Drew Styles scored from two yards out following a 32-yard pass from QB DeSean Walker to WR Tye Brown. Weston Green kicked the extra point.

Grissom answered with a 73-yard drive on seven plays. RB Vadell Jones capped the drive on a 19-yard run with 6:27 left in the opening quarter. Brewer blocked the extra kick to maintain a 7-6 advantage.

The visitors grabbed a 12-7 lead with 1:18 left in the first quarter on a 19-yard pass from QB Easton Brock. A pass for a two-point conversion fell incomplete.

The Patriots regained the lead with 11:49 remaining in the second quarter on a 19-yard run by all-purpose athlete Brendon DeBerry.  Green kicked the extra point to make the score 14-12.

The Patriots increased their lead to 21-12 on the strength of a 72-yard drive on 11 plays. Sean Honeycutt scored on a 16-yard play action pass from QB  Walker with 3:25 left in the first half. Green added the extra point.

A 35-yard pass form Brock to WR Eric Williams, along with a two-point conversion enabled the visitors to pull to within a point of Brewer, 21-20, with 43 seconds left in the first half.

Brock scored the go-ahead TD with 1:52 remaining in the third quarter and completed a pass to Williams for a two-point conversion to make the score 28-21.

“I though we came ready to play,” said Brewer head coach Dan Styles. “Our offense moved the ball well for the most part and made some big plays. They exposed our defense a little with the triple option. That hurt and it’s something we’ll have to work on to correct.

“It was a good film game opportunity,” he added. “We were able to play lots of young players. Obviously, we made some mistakes.” We’ll break down the film and use next week to correct them.

“We’ll need to play our best to have a chance against Hartselle Friday night.” That’s a game we’ve been working on for a year.”

The Patriot defense was never able to find an answer to the running of Grissom’s Pierre Nance. He rushed for 173 yards on 22 carries.

DeBerry had a big night for Brewer, He gained 58 yards rushing on nine carries, had 62 return yards on kickoffs and punt returns, had a 55-yard punt return nullified by a holding penalty and kicked four times for a 34.5 average.

Drew Styles picked up 62 yards rushing on 13 carries and scored a TD.

Members of the Brewer ROTC carry the colors before Brewer’s opener against Grissom Friday night. | Clif Knight

Brewer’s Blake Borden (4) gains 12 yards against Grissom Friday night. | Clif Knight

Brewer’s Brandon Deberry takes the ball home on this 55-yard punt return only to see the play nullified by a holding penalty. | Clif Knight

Greg Johnson (21) executes a rush play for the Brewer Patriots during thier game against Grissom High Shcool Friday. | Clif Knight

Brendon DeBerry carries the ball for Brewer during their game against Grissom Friday night. | Clif Knight

Brewer offensive coordinator Clay Styles talks with Baxley Collins (31) and Nick Humphries (13) during a time out. | Clif Knight

Brewer’s captains in their game against Grissom Friday night were, from left, Kolton Bramlett, Tyler Chavers, Nick Humphries and Brendon DeBerry. Brewer lost to Grissom 28-21 after an early lead. | Clif Knight