Despite a slow start on a cold November night in Vienna, the caught fire in the second half en route to a 50-21 victory over the .
Quarterback Tyler Quigly was nothing short of spectacular, completing 29-44 passes for 384 yards and six touchdowns. Four of those touchdowns went to his twin brother Tanner, who finished with 188 yards on 10 receptions.
Equally impressive was the tenacious Bruin defense, which created five turnovers and forced nice three-and-outs keep a very good Oakton offense out of contention.
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The teams, and their boisterous pep bands, battled back and forth in the first quarter, and although the Bruin offense was able to move the ball from the opening drive, stalled drives and two costly turnovers had them traling for most of the first half.
In fact, it wasn’t until Tyler Quigly was put under the pressure of the two minutes drill that he finally found his rhthym. He connected with fellow senior Justin Um for two big passing plays down the middle, the second for 28 yards and a touchdown to tie the game, 14-14, with 47 seconds remaining in the first half.
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Bruin head coach Jim Poythress decided to ride the hot hand of his quarterback early in the third quarter.
After thawing out in the locker room, Quigly quickly delivered, linking up with Tanner on two perfectly thrown lobs to the endzone.
Feeding off the success of the offense, the Bruin defense shut down everything the Cougars tried to throw at them, forcing four straight three-and-outs and giving the ball back to Quigly with great field position.
The senior leader, who came into the game 5th in region in passing yards, continued to find the open man, completing one throw after another. He capped off two more drives with 4th quarter touchdown passes, one to junior Austin Wolfe, and another to Tanner, his fourth of the game.
Meanwhile, the Bruin defense continued to give Oakton fits, causing tow more fumbles. When the Cougars had no choice but to go to the air with time dwindling, the Lake Braddock secondary was prepared, batting down numerous balls and picking off two.
On the first interception, senior defensive back Greg Jones had a Sportscenter-worthy return, zig zaging 80 yards through heavy traffic for the touchdown. Unfortunately for Jones, the play was called all the way back on a penalty.
Fortunately for the Bruin faithful, the victory was already theirs.
