Brentwood starts fast, rolls to homecoming win over Deer Lakes

By: Alec Italiano
Friday, September 29, 2017 | 11:57 PM

A midseason nonconference game proved to be the perfect chance for Brentwood to snap a three-game losing streak. For Deer Lakes, the wait to get into the win column will have to continue.

Evan Vickless scored on a 98-yard run on Brentwood's first play from scrimmage, a play that set the tone for the Spartans to get a 40-0 homecoming night win over the Lancers on Friday.

The Spartans (3-3) scored on four of their first five possessions, stopped only on a goal-line stand by Deer Lakes (0-5), and produced 324 yards of offense. Their next two games are road contests at South Allegheny and Carlynton, matchups that likely will determine if Brentwood can reach the Class 2A playoffs.

“Last week we didn't play well, but the week before that we lost in the last four seconds, and the week before that we lost in the last minute of the game,” Brentwood coach Kevin Kissel said.

“We couldn't get out of our own way, so we needed this one to get ourselves right. They know what's ahead of them, and we wanted this one bad, but they know it doesn't mean anything. We have to win the next two weeks.”

Michael Trent was 12-of-19 passing for 222 yards and a touchdown for Brentwood, and Austin Veatch caught four passes for 105 yards, including a 62-yard touchdown catch to open the second half and make the score 34-0.

Deer Lakes, which was coming off its closest game of the season, a 26-20 loss last week to Valley, never got things going offensively. The Lancers got only five first downs and turned the ball over four times, including a pair of interceptions by Brentwood's Andrew Wilson, who scored on a 54-yard return of his first pick.

“Hats off to Brentwood. They played well from their first play on. They came out first play and ran a (98-yard) touchdown, and that says a lot,” Deer Lakes coach Steve Sciullo said.

“I'm just telling our guys they have to come to work and prepare like they want to win a game. If you don't prepare like you want to win, there's a good chance you're not going to win said game. That's the reality of football, and it's a life lesson.”

Deer Lakes quarterback Ethan Bender was 8-of-22 passing for 112 yards, but the Lancers had little room in the running game, as a lack of running lanes and four Brentwood sacks left them with just 6 yards on the ground.

Brentwood also struggled on the ground after the opening score.

Vickless finished with 93 yards on 14 carries, but the Spartans were effective in the red zone with a 1-yard run by Ian Thomas, a 12-yard run by Veatch and a 2-yard run by Vickless accounting for their other first-half touchdowns.

“We weren't running the ball well at all the last three weeks, and that specific play (for the 98-yard touchdown), we worked on it all week in practice,” Kissel said. “So when we got the ball and said what do we want to run, well, we've worked on it all week. Let's see what happens. It's just like we drew it up, but that's not how it works all the time. We did do a better job tonight, I think.”

Matt Grubba is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at mgrubba@tribweb.com

Tags: Brentwood, Deer Lakes