DUKE CENTER – Derek Sunafrank may have scored two touchdowns on Friday night, but Bradford High head coach Jeff Puglio is more impressed with his halfback’s blocking abilities.
Sunafrank, a sophomore, ran for 92 yards and caught three quick passes for 34 yards to lead the Owls to a gritty 27-8 win over Otto-Eldred in Duke Center.
“I love the way he blocks,” Puglio said. “The way he runs, he listens to what we talk about in practice and he applies it on the field. You can see it directly. He wants to get to the end zone every single time he touches the ball. I think that kid – you talk about his motor running. He has a nose for the end zone and he runs as hard as he can. I like the way he’s running right now and I really love the way he’s blocking.”
Sunafrank, just one part of the four-headed monster the Owls deploy out of their backfield, was able to find the end zone twice – once through the air and again on the ground. His stablemates John Eakin, Donny Pattison and Jaron Ambrose were able to find space in the Terrors’ defense, with Eakin leading the way for 117 yards on 15 carries and Pattison toting eight times for 73 yards. Ambrose gained just seven yards but came up with one of the Owls’ three interceptions and blocked a punt on defense.
Bradford High rolled up 405 yards of total offense in the win and move to 4-0 for the first time since 2010. They open up Allegheny Mountain League South division play this week against Elk Catholic at home a year after going 0-5 in league play in their inaugural AML season.
“We were 0-5 last year,” Puglio said. “We lost all of them. We have to remember that and know that we have to bring out A-game every single week. There are no weeks off now and that started tonight. We knew this was going to be a dogfight, but we have to elevate our play. The nice thing is I know we can”
Puglio believes his team can still improve as the regular season is a week shy of its midpoint. The Owls committed seven penalties for 65 yards on Friday.
“I know our best game is ahead of us. These guys have a lot of room to grow in what they can show and what they can do out here. I’m excited for the next five games. I think everyone should be fired up. We’re 4-0 and we’re going to get it clicking and we’re going to get healthy because we’re a little banged up tonight.”
For O-E coach Nick LaBella, Bradford High’s backfield was too much for its defense. Likewise, the Owls limited Otto-Eldred (1-3) to just 43 yards rushing on the night. After Eakin scored on the Owls’ opening drive – the fourth straight week Bradford High has scored within the game’s first three minutes – a few big Terror plays put LaBella’s team at the Owls’ 37-yard line.
Then quarterback Sawyer Drummond found receiver Cameron Magee for a 37-yard catch and run. Drummond snuck the ball in for the conversion and with 7:12 left in the second quarter, Otto-Eldred led 8-7.
Those big plays are part of the Otto-Eldred game plan.
“We gave up some chunks early on the ground on a few of those jet sweeps outside,” LaBella said. “We made a few plays too. Cam Magee is a good receiver, Dylan [Close] is a good receiver. [Bradford was] putting another guy over the top a lot of times. They did a good job competing and they made some plays back there on a couple of our passes.”
The lead was short-lived as Sunafrank took in his 25-yard pitch and run on the ensuing drive to take a 13-8 lead, then scored in the third quarter on his 10-yard run to put the Owls up 20-8. Pattison scored on a quarterback keeper just moments into the fourth quarter to bring the final to 27-8.
While Bradford High’s defense limited the Terror ground attack, Drummond was 15-for-22 for 184 yards through the air, hooking up with Magee six times for 122 yards and Close seven times for 174 yards. However, Drummond’s first pass of the game was picked off by Caleb Nuzzo, while Pattison and Ambrose also came up with interceptions.
