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POINT PLEASANT, W.Va. — It was a back and forth game on Friday night in Point Pleasant between the Big Blacks and the Brooke Bruins but it was the Bruins who were able to come in and win 34-33 on homecoming night.

The Big Blacks – who came into the game with an unblemished 4-0 mark – took the lead at the 4:11 mark of the fourth quarter. The Bruins proceeded to drive 63 yards and score with 1:24 left in the game, leaving the locals little time to produce a game-winning drive.

“We knew this game would be a tough one,” said head coach Dave Darst. “Brooke has a great football program and they play an extremely tough schedule. Our kids played hard but it just wasn’t enough in the end.”

The Big Blacks led 27-14 at half but struggled to mount much offense in the second half minus one big play on the final scoring drive.

Senior Tylun Campbell – who rushed for 76 yards in the first half – only played a handful of snaps before getting injured in the second half. Point was already minus junior Chase Walton on offense due to an injury from last week.

Senior Marquez Griffin was the second leading rusher on the day with 6 carries for 57 yards. Junior Teran Barnitz had 7 carries for 15 yards as well.

Sophomore quarterback Aden Yates was 10 of 16 on the night for 188 yards with 2 touchdown passes and one interception on the final play of the game. His leading receiver was senior Anthony Perry with 2 catches for 82 yards.

Other receivers on the night included Brycen Reymond with 1 catch for 29 yards, Tylun Campbell with 2 for 29 yards, senior Andrew Williamson with 2 for 30 yards, Marquez Griffin with 2 for 22 yards, and Teran Barnitz with 1 catch for -2 yards.

Defensively, despite only playing one half, Conner Templeton was one of the leading defensive players again this week. Senior Andrew Williamson, junior Brycen Reymond, sophomore Gage Buskirk, and senior Robby Wallace were some of the leading defensive players on the night.

After forcing a quick three and out to start the game, The Big Blacks offense answered quickly with a drive and Tylun Campbell was able to find the end-zone from 5 yards out. The Colin Peal extra point was good, giving Point the early lead 7-0.

Point would find the end-zone one more time before the end of the 1st quarter when Marquez Griffin ran 40 yards for a score. The kick was no good, giving Point the lead 13-0 with 2 minutes left in the first quarter.

Brooke would answer quickly when quarterback Alex Buchmelter would scramble and find Thomas Cole for a 51 yard connection.

Late in the first half, thanks to two Conner Templeton sack/strips, Aden Yates connected once with Campbell for 20 yards and once with Brycen Reymond for 30 yards to give Point 14 points in the final 1:42 of the half.

Brooke would with five minutes left in the third quarter and six minutes left in the game to take the lead from Point before Aden Yates found Anthony Perry for a big 80+ yard completion. Yates would eventually sneak the ball in for a score.

It would all be too little too late as the Bruins would drive down for the game-winning score.

“It was a tough loss but we have to move on,” said Darst. “We have another tough team next week in Oak Hill. It’s on the road so we have to be focused on going up there and beating a good football team.”