Friday Night Heartbreak for Dragons

There are many things the Brick Dragons varsity football might not be in 2011. They might not be the strongest, or biggest, but there is no denying this Dragon squad has played with a ton of heart.

With a 17-14 loss against Middletown South Friday night, the Dragons' playoff hopes are on life support, coming after they just missed out on the B-South division crown last week with an overtime loss at Barnegat.

"We had some penalties, some drops and a missed alignment which really hurt us," said Brick head football coach Robert Dahl.

"As for the effort," said Dahl, before pausing briefly, "I could not be prouder. Maybe we didn't win the war on the scoreboard, but I feel like we won the battle and outplayed them for most of the game."

Trailing 17-7 and taking over at their own nine with 3:32 to play in the game, the Dragons drove down the field – successfully, without drive halting penalties or drops – to punch in a touchdown with 47 seconds left.

The ensuing onside kick failed to travel the necessary ten yards to be recovered and the Eagles ran out the clock.

Senior quarterback Brandon Kieslor carried in a one yard sprint out to the right for the final score, giving the Dragons a chance to win or tie the game recovering an onside kick.

Kieslor stepped up on the stage with the playoffs on the line going 12-for-28, for 254 yards passing and a touchdown. On the ground, he was responsible for 16 touches for 54 yards (including yards lost on sacks) and a score.

Going to the air so much was not a surprise for any of the Dragons. 

"This is what we wanted to do," said Dahl. "We knew we were going to be throwing a lot and game planned accordingly."

Both teams looked sloppy on their opening possessions as they traded punts when the Dragons found themselves with possession of the ball on their own 27. After scrambling in all four directions, Kieslor found Tom Winters open over the middle for 31 yards on third down and 14. Back-to-back eight yard runs by the quarterback set the Dragons up with a first down on the South 30. Two plays later, Brick took a 7-0 lead when receiver John Fuino beat the South secondary deep and caught a perfectly spotted ball.

"I've said it all year, but it is a tough system to grasp," Dahl said. "(Kieslor) has done a really good job so far, and could have done even better if not for a few drops."

Middletown South answered with a four play touchdown drive, highlighted by a 44 yard rush on third and one, setting up first and goal. Dahl claimed the defense was not lined up correctly and the Eagles took advantage of it. However, the extra point was missed and the Dragons held on to a 7-6 lead all the way to halftime. Both teams finished sloppy in the first as the Eagles missed a 20 yard field goal and the Dragons committed four penalties on the same series, killing a promising drive.

South opened up the second half with a six minute long touchdown drive as well as the two point conversion, giving the Eagles a 14-7 lead. It was the South's run game which gave the Dragons problems on the game changing drive.

The next three Dragons' drives got them into South territory, but they came away with no points. Two sets of turnovers on downs and a missed 30 yard field goal proved to be too much to overcome as the Eagles added a field goal early in the fourth quarter.

"It hurts immensely," said Dahl. "Possibly out of the playoffs, thats something that we wanted to make. I think we out hit them today, but we made too many mistakes. Can't have that and expect to win."

Brick falls to 4-4 with the loss with a game next Saturday at JFK in Iselin to try to get back over .500.