Brewer falls 49-28 to Muscle Shoals

By Staff
Matt Widener, Enquirer Correspondent
MUSCLE SHOALS — The Brewer Patriots’ fan support on the road is always encouraging. On Friday night at Muscle Shoals the case was no different as the Patriots fell short of a victory, falling 49-28.
Ben Maxwell’s kickoff to start the game was returned by the Trojans’ Adrian McCord to their 40-yard line. The Trojans tried a few rushing plays which led to short yardage. With a third down situation for Muscle Shoals, quarterback Mark Holt threw an interception to the Patriots’ Eric Parker, giving Brewer possession on their 28-yard line.
Lucas Wilson completed a series of passes to Chris Humphries and Miles Loosier leading to a Patriot first down on the Trojans’ 25-yard line. Wilson completed a 15-yard pass to Cody Maples for another first down giving Brewer a first down on the 10 yard line. With five minutes remaining in the first quarter, Maples rushed for a touchdown, followed by a converted extra point by Ben Maxwell to give the Patriots a 7-0 lead.
The Trojans returned the kickoff to midfield and running back Chase Brown sped 50 yards for a Trojan touchdown a few plays later. The extra point was good by Holt tying the score at 7-all with three minutes to go in the first quarter.
The Patriots took over on their 35-yard line with Wilson completing passes to Humphries and Chase Oden, both resulting in first downs. Miles Loosier then ran the ball for another Patriot first down to end the first quarter.
On the first play in the second quarter, Wilson threw a jump ball to the corner of the end zone and Humphries went up and pulled the ball down for a 25-yard touchdown. The extra point was good by Maxwell, giving Brewer a 14-7 lead early in the second quarter.
The Trojans responded with two long rushing plays by Brown and Avery Jackson, followed by a personal foul against Brewer that gave Muscle Shoals a first down on the Patriot 15. The Trojans finished the drive off with a short touchdown run by Stephen Files. The extra point was good making the scored tied at 14.
The Patriots had no luck with their next drive, stalling out after an intentional grounding and personal foul. Humphries lined up and had his punt partially blocked to give the Trojans great field position.
The Trojans’ Jackson scored moments later on a rushing touchdown followed by an extra point giving Muscle Shoals a 21-14 lead with six minutes to go before halftime.
The Patriots took over possession but couldn’t maintain it. The Trojans intercepted Wilson’s pass and took over on the Patriots’ 40-yard line.
The Trojans’ Jackson then ran for a touchdown of 20 yards followed by an extra point to give Muscle Shoals a 28-14 lead.
The following kickoff to the Patriots was returned down the sideline by Eric Parker for a 70-yard touchdown. The extra point was good making the score 28-21 with the Trojans leading.
With 45 seconds to go, Holt connected with Brown for another Trojan touchdown to give the Trojans a 35-21 lead at halftime.
The second half did not have as much scoring as the first but both teams continued to put points on the board.
The Patriots started a drive from their own 35-yard line with two long pass conversions giving Brewer a first down on the Trojans’ 35-yard line. Wilson then dropped back to pass and took a vicious hit resulting in a fumble that was recovered by the Trojans. Wilson left the game and was replaced by backup Tony Dickerson. Through the middle of the third quarter Avery Jackson rushed for another Trojan touchdown followed by an extra point giving Muscle Shoals a 42-21 lead.
Dickerson drove the Patriots down the field with a 30-yard pass to Parker giving them a first down in Trojan territory to end the third quarter.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Dickerson hooked up with running back Travis Campbell for a completion and a touchdown. The extra point was good making the score 42-28.
The Trojans’ next drive stalled with a fumble recovery by Brewer. With the Patriots backed up on their 1-yard line, Dickerson threw an interception that was returned by Brown for the final touchdown of the game. The extra point was good and sewed up a 49-28 victory for Muscle Shoals.
The Patriots will host West Point Friday night for what is expected to be a closely contested game.