Bremen uses strong defensive effort to advance in Sectional 33

Bremen uses strong defensive effort to advance in Sectional 33

Bremen 34, Whiting 0
By Paul Honeycutt

WHITING – Bremen has appeared in the last three Sectional 33 finals, and it doesn’t want to stop now.

The Lions (6-4) used a strong defensive effort and capitalized on one of their interceptions to catapult them 34-0 in their Class 2A Sectional 33 first-round win over the Oilers at Jeff Cain Stadium on Friday night.

Appearing in the last three Sectional 33 finals, the Lions totaled seven sacks, four picks and a fumble recovery in the shutout.

Bremen, who will face Rensselaer Central (8-2) in one of next week’s sectional semifinals, scored in just 87 seconds on its first drive, capped by a Brayden Pearish 41-yard rushing TD.

The quick touchdown proved to be vitally important for Bremen, because while the Lions offense moved the ball, they didn’t score any more offensive touchdowns in the first half.

“The defense has been lights out all year and it starts up front,” said Pearish, who rushed for 126 yards on 20 carries and also recorded an interception.

Whiting (2-8) stopped the Lions on four separate fourth down attempts in the first half, including one in the red zone late in the second quarter.

On the first play from scrimmage in the second quarter, Pearish intercepted a pass from Whiting sophomore quarterback Alex Vazquez, but the Oilers again stopped Bremen from scoring yet again.

Bremen sophomore safety Nicholas Slusser picked off Vazquez and ran it all the way 46 yards for a pick-6 to put his team up 14-0, which was the score at the half.

Lions senior linebacker Hunter Cannon recorded his team’s third interception of the night right before the first half ended.

After neither team scored in the third, Bremen hung 20 points in the fourth quarter on two rushing touchdowns and a special teams score.

On the first play from scrimmage in the fourth, Bremen senior QB Jack Wildauer ran one in from three yards out.

Cannon, who rushed for 67 yards on just three carries, ran one straight up the gut from 51 yards out at 5:37 in the fourth and Wildauer added a 46-yard punt return for a score just over one minute later.

Jace Pippengen added 82 all-purpose yards for Bremen in the win.

A lot remains to be seen for Whiting football, but earlier this year, senior running back Demetrio Lopez became the first player since 2018 to rush for over 1,000 yards in a season.

Lopez rushed for 40 yards on the night while Vazquez passed for 150 yards, and senior wide out Julius Youngblood hauled in three passes for 66 yards in the season-ending loss.

Friday’s win marks the first playoff win for Bremen coach Justin Bogunia at his almamater, as he graduated from the school and won a state title in 1989.

“I’ll take a look and and reflect since it’s a nice little milestone with my first playoff win here,” he said. “The seniors have been here in three straight finals and it’s part of my job to get them there again.”

Bremen 34, Whiting 0

Bremen; 7 7 0 20 – 34

Whiting; 0 0 0 0 – 0

B – Brayden Pearish 41 run (Jack Wildauer kick), 10:37 1st

B – Nicholas Slusser 46 int return (Wildauer kick), 8:14 2nd

B – Wildauer 3 run (kick blocked), 11:54 4th

B – Hunter Cannon 51 run (Wildauer kick), 5:37 4th

B – Wildauer 46 punt return (Wildauer kick), 4:25 4th

Bremen;Whiting

First Downs;16;10

Total Yards;305;148

Rushes-Yards;44-254;23-(-2)

Passing;51;150

Comp.-Att.-Int.;4-8-0;10-26-4

Penalties-Yards;4-40;6-35

Fumbles-Lost;4-1;3-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – BREMEN, Brayden Pearish 20-126, Hunter Cannon 3-67, Jace Pippengen 8-53, Derek Miller 5-17, Logan Moser 1-2, Jack Wildauer 7-(-11). WHITING, Demetrio Lopez 16-40, Alex Vazquez 7-(-42).

PASSING – BREMEN, Jack Wildauer 4-8-51-0-0. WHITING, Alex Vazquez 10-26-150-0-4.

RECEIVING – BREMEN, Jace Pippengen 2-29, Derek Miller 2-22. WHITING, Julius Youngblood 3-66, Berner Garcia 2-33, Kasen Dunn 2-32, Jayden Dondle 2-11, Romeo Rosario 1-8.