Grace Hand is an ASU Cronkite School of Journalism student assigned to cover Brophy Prep for AZPreps365.com

A slow start for the Brophy Prep offense did not seem to matter as the Broncos put up six touchdowns at Notre Dame Prep’s Bemis Field Friday night with a final score of 42-17.

At the end of the Saints’ second drive, with less than three minutes in the first quarter, a bad snap on the punt allowed Brophy’s special teams to set their offense up three yards away from the end zone. One play later, running back Harrison Chambers made the score 7-0.

“We started slow and that was a little disappointing,” Broncos coach Jason Jewell said. “We had the big special teams play and to be honest, it wasn’t really anything we did. But we were able to capitalize. There were some situations last week where we got down in scoring position and didn’t get a touchdown, we kicked a field goal. So, being able to finish drives was very big for us in this game.”

That early touchdown ended up being the beginning of a solid night for Chambers. The sophomore rushed for 94 yards and two more touchdowns. 

“We had a real big development on our offense,” Chambers said. “Having all the other running backs get in, that really took some pressure off me and we got the win. I’m proud of my team.”

The Saints tried to get some momentum back in the second quarter after two Brophy penalties put the ball on the Notre Dame 44-yard line. An offensive penalty caused a touchdown to be called back, forcing them to settle for a field goal by senior Luke Liborio instead. The kick brought the score to 14-3 with 3:21 left in the half.

Brophy got the ball back for one more quick drive. Starting on their own 20, quarterback Charlie McGinnis and his offense strung together nine plays to end the half. With 30.9 seconds to go, McGinnis kept the ball for a three-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos a 21-3 halftime lead. 

“It kind of just takes the life out of the other team,” McGinnis said. “Going into the half, knowing that you’re down a lot of points and you’re going to have to have a big comeback, that’s just hard to do.”

Notre Dame was not able to do much in the third, and the Broncos were the next to score on a 34-yard pass from McGinnis to junior Nathan Benzie. Saints quarterback Noah Trigueros responded with a 22-yard rushing touchdown with 33.9 seconds left in the quarter to try and give his team a chance, but the defense was not able to shut down the big Brophy plays.

“I think it starts with our offensive line,” Jewell said. “We’re big and we’re physical, and those kids are doing a good job. We’re able to protect Charlie very well and then open up holes for whoever is playing running back.”

With 2:05 left in the game, Trigueros completed a 40-yard pass to Jameson Bush to bring Notre Dame to their final score of 17 points.

Behind his offensive line McGinnis threw for 172 yards and ran for 30 yards and two touchdowns. With another team victory secured, he could look toward the big conference matchup next week. 

“Basha’s a great team,” McGinnis said. “We’re going to need to have a great game all around. I’m looking forward to testing ourselves, see how we do. 

Brophy Prep (4-1, 1-1) will play at Basha (4-1, 4-1) at 7 p.m. Thursday. The Saints (3-2, 2-1) have a week off before traveling to Horizon on Oct. 6 at 7 p.m.