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

 

When Notre Dame Prep senior quarterback Dylan Rarden was sacked in the endzone for a safety by Brophy Prep senior middle linebacker Dominic Woods early in the first quarter, Brophy Prep Head Coach Jason Jewell could tell what kind of game it was going to be for his Broncos.

The safety came right after the Saints allowed Brophy's junior quarterback Case Vanden Bosch to run in for a touchdown on a quarterback keeper to get the scoring started. The safety who followed marked two scoreless drives to start the September 27 game for Notre Dame, compared to Brophy who had now scored on both offense and defense.

Momentum was in the hands of the Broncos and it was something that Jewell was glad to see.  

“Coming out and getting the ball and driving down and scoring was a big deal because we had honestly not had a lot of success doing that with our first drive all season,” Jewell said. “We set the tone, both offensively and defensively. It’s really nice to start out the game 9-0 and be physical on both sides of the trenches.”

Brophy Prep (5-0) carried the momentum to make it a one-sided 40-0 victory in front of the home crowd against previously undefeated rivals Notre Dame Prep (4-1). 

At the heart of Brophy Prep’s offensive attack was Vanden Bosch who wasn’t starting for the Broncos at the beginning of the year. Yet, the keys to the offense were in his hands under the Friday night lights and he made the most of it. The junior used his legs to rush into the endzone, not only for his previously mentioned first touchdown of the game, but for his second as well. His second came from 15 yards out and was set up on the previous play by his arm. 

Vanden Bosch found his teammate, junior wide receiver Devin Fitzgerald, who was open on a slant route and sent the ball his way for a reception that ended up going for over 50 yards. 

“I’m just going out there and doing what I can for my team,” Vanden Bosch said. “I’m there to run the ball, I’m an athlete, but I’m also there to give the ball to my teammates.”  

Vanden Bosch continued to feed his fellow Broncos and Fitzgerald specifically. The two connected again three minutes before halftime for a 29-yard touchdown giving Fitzgerald two big plays on the day and making the score 37-0.

Still, even after a touchdown performance, Fitzgerald said he could’ve done more. 

“I was blocking good and when there was opportunities to get the ball, we made the most out of them,” Fitzgerald said. “I wish I could’ve got into the end zone on that slant route. I was making too many decisions. I should have just kept it going straight, but I felt we all played good and it was a great game.” 

The Broncos added a field goal in the second half but they continued to shut out their opponent making it a well-rounded victory from start to finish against a rival in a game with stakes bigger than your average high school football matchup.  

“It’s our rivals, so we’ve been preparing all week being ready to beat them,” Fitzgerald said. “This game means a lot more than football. If we win, we get more kids to come to Brophy and it just means a lot for our school. So we had to bring it home and we knew we had to start off strong.”