Braintree's Big Second Half Tops Brookline Football

The Brookline Warriors lacked focus and watched the game slip away from them in the second half of yesterday's match against Natick, an issue head coach Kevin Mahoney said could be a reoccurring theme throughout the season for his young team.

Breakdowns in defensive coverage, an inability to convert third downs on offense and penalties plagued Brookline in the final two quarters of its 27-7 loss to the Wamps.

Brookline looked strong early as Stephen O'Neal took a handoff 20 yards to the end zone to give his team a 7-0 lead with 6:56 left in the first quarter. After forcing a Braintree three-and-out, Brookline had the ball at its own 49 but missed a chance to add to its 7-0 advantage when O'Neal fumbled.

Both the Warriors and Wamps struggled offensively until the end of the half, but the Wamps finally broke through with 1:18 left in the second quarter. A 10-play drive from their own 42 culminated with quarterback Cameron Hooper's 21-yard keeper and knotted the game at 7-7 going into halftime.

Braintree caught Brookline flat-footed with a bit of trickery with 2:58 in the third quarter. Hooper pitched the ball behind the line of scrimmage to wide receiver Colin Pratt, who tossed a 32-yard touchdown pass to receiver Steven Lee to put the Wamps up 14-7.

"It's a play we practice often and we needed to be in the right position on the field to try to pull it off," Braintree head coach Dave Flynn said.

Brookline's second-half offensive woes continued with an illegal procedure and a fumbled snap to give the ball right back to Braintree, which quickly took advantage of the possession.

Hooper's 21-yard pass to Tim Dutcher set up running back Cody Boyle's 23-yard touchdown scamper and gave Braintree a 21-7 lead with 9:53 left in the fourth. Boyle added a second touchdown run with 5:39 remaining in the game to put the Wamps up 27-7.

"We didn't keep the pedal to the metal in the second half and that's not what we want to do," Mahoney said. "We need that sense of urgency."

Flynn said his team controlled the line of scrimmage much better in the final two quarters and that his ground game was a big key.

"We made some mistakes early on but I think we did a great job adjusting in the second half," Flynn said. "The more we run, the better we are and the passing game opens up."

Going into next Saturday's 2 p.m. home game against Walpole, Mahoney hopes his team can put more of an emphasis on practice during the week.

"Walpole is one of the best teams in the state and we need to practice better," Mahoney said. "Games are won during the week at practice."