Broadneck Football Earns Third Straight State Semis Trip

Heading into the state playoffs, the thought around Broadneck’s football team was that the offense was great, the defense was a question mark, and special teams could be hit-or-miss. But the offense would need to be great to advance deep into the playoffs.

In Friday’s state quarterfinal game against Northwest, the offense wasn’t great. But it was good when it needed to be, the defense and special teams rose to the occasion, and all three phases played their part.

Behind touchdowns runs from Ian Mauldin and C.J. Watkins, a scoring catch by Aidan Tupper, three key special teams plays, and a relentless defensive effort, the Bruins scored a 24-14 win over the Jaguars, earning their third straight trip to the state semifinals.

“Playoff football is a little different. It’s a little bit tighter. We played a good team tonight, and we’ve had some tough games,” said Broadneck coach Rob Harris. “Our kids didn’t back down and they went toe-to-toe with them, and they believed they were the better team the whole week, which is awesome. … we did what we needed to do to win. Sometimes it’s not always pretty, but you get the W, and that’s all that matters.”

It was almost a complete reversal from the 2023 state quarterfinal, in which Broadneck won 21-20 in a mild upset, courtesy of a stubborn and opportunistic defense, combined with just enough offense.

Last year, the Bruins mustered just 14 rushing yards; on Friday, they had 150. Last year, they won the turnover battle 3-0; on Friday, they lost it 3-1.

The constant was in the collective: all three phases of the team played well enough to win. The defense gave up a few chunk plays but they also logged four sacks — two on the final drive of the game by Tommy Anglim — twice made tackles for loss on third-and-short to force punts, and on two more occasions denied the Jaguars on fourth down. Broadneck held Northwest’s vaunted rushing attack to just 59 yards on the night.

“Our whole defense was turned up for this game. We were loving it and ready to go,” said junior defensive back Jonah Brown, who had one of the crucial third-down stops. “We had so much work in our prep and film, all of our packages, to make sure that we were ready to play today.”

The special teams partially blocked two punts, and Tupper recovered a muffed punt return, from which Broadneck got the early lead on a 42-yard Dylan Jordan field goal.

Mauldin carried 25 times for 119 yards and a score, adding three receptions for 17 yards through the air. Watkins threw two interceptions and lost a fumble in the slick conditions, but he was involved in 147 yards of offense, fired a pinpoint touchdown pass to Tupper just before halftime, and converted first downs with his legs three times on Broadneck’s final drive, including a 16-yard touchdown run on fourth down that sealed the win.

“I had a lot of confidence, and it was great to come out and execute,” Watkins said, happy with the win but quick on the self-critique. “But we need to be even better next week and execute from the first play. Can’t start out sluggish like I was in the first half.”

Watkins was clutch when he needed to be. On the last drive of the first half, he managed the clock well and hit Tupper in the corner of the end zone for a diving 20-yard touchdown pass. Then on the final drive of the game, he got seven yards on third-and-6, then two on fourth-and-1, then the touchdown run on fourth-and-2.

Joey Smargissi added 71 receiving yards on six catches, four of which moved the chains and extended Broadneck drives.

With the win, the Bruins advanced to the state semifinals for the third consecutive season, and they secured their 24th straight victory on their home turf, dating back to September of 2021 — Archbishop Spalding was the last team to come to Broadneck and leave with a win.

Though the players, and the seniors in particular, could celebrate leaving Broadneck having never lost at home, there’s little time to reflect before next week’s state semifinal game at perennial contender Quince Orchard, who knocked Broadneck out in the semis two years ago.

“These guys were sophomores on a great team, juniors on a great team, and now seniors on a great team,” Harris said. “They’re already starting to reminisce some with the coaches about the times they’ve had, but they know there’s still business in front of them.”

Broadneck 24, Northwest 14

Northwest  0    7    7    0    --14

Broadneck  3    7    7    7    --24

First quarter

B – Jordan 42 FG 8:57

Second quarter

N – Jones 3 pass from Vongprachanh-Nelson (Harrigan kick) 4:53

B – Tupper 20 pass from Watkins (Jordan kick) 0:36

Third quarter

B – Mauldin 1 run (Jordan kick) 5:10

N – Mahoney 8 run (Harrigan kick) 2:00

Fourth quarter

B – Watkins 16 run (Jordan kick) 2:25

Team statistics

Total yards: Northwest 211, Broadneck 268.

Rushing yards: Northwest 59, Broadneck 150.

Passing yards: Northwest 152, Broadneck 118.

First downs: Northwest 10, Broadneck 17.

Penalties: Northwest 7-55, Broadneck 7-60.

Turnovers: Northwest 1, Broadneck 3.

Points off turnovers: Northwest 7, Broadneck 3.

Sacks: Northwest 0, Broadneck 4.

Individual statistics

Rushing – Northwest: Mahoney 12-76, Clunis 2-8, Rivers 4-7, Lynch 1-4, Davis 1-(-11), Vongprachanh-Nelson 3-(-25); Broadneck: Mauldin 25-119, Watkins 8-29, Hayes 1-9, Foote 1-1, Levicki 1-(-7).

Passing – Northwest: Vongprachanh-Nelson 15-24-0-152; Broadneck: Watkins 13-25-2-118.

Receiving – Northwest: Lynch 3-64, Jones 8-57, Davis 1-19, Mahoney 1-6, Rivers 2-4. Broadneck: Smargissi 6-71, Tupper 2-28, Mauldin 3-17, Foote 1-3, Hayes 1-(-1).