Brook Hill stopped in first round of playoffs at Midland Christian

MIDLAND — The Brook Hill Guard traveled 430 miles West to begin its postseason Saturday afternoon against Midland Christian.

The trip to end in success with Brook Hill held scoreless in the second half of an 82-32 loss. The teams combined to score 93 points in the first half with Brook Hill trailing 62-31 at halftime.

Jermiah McGowen rushed 12 times for 100 yards and a touchdown and caught a 70-yard TD pass. Quarterback Hood Taylor was 14 of 33 for 134 yards, a touchdown and an interception while also rushing for 55 yards and a score. Parker Galbraith hauled in eight passes for 88 yards and a TD with Alec Kitt catching three passes for 22 yards and also threw a touchdown pass.

The game’s result was a sour conclusion for what has been a solid season for the Guard under new head coach Scott Ryle. Brook Hill overcame losing starting quarterback Taylor Hood to injury in the middle of district play for Taylor to return with two games remaining and help the Guard still clinch a playoff spot.

Brook Hill finishes its season with a 6-5 record. The Guard began its campaign with 5-0 record, including a win over St. John Paul II from Boca Raton, Fla.

In the loss to Midland Christian, Brook Hill led in the early minutes when Jermiah McGowen hauled in a 70-yard touchdown reception from receiver Alec Kitt, followed by a two-point conversion run by Brooks Parham to give the Guard an 8-7 advantage.

Midland Christian responded with 20 unanswered points.

The Guard were back in the end zone with 3:50 to play in the first quarter on a 62-yard touchdown run by McGowen. The extra point by Jordan Wyatt cut Brook Hill’s deficit to 27-15 with 3:50 remaining in the first quarter.

MC scored twice more to end the first quarter, one of those coming off a fumble on a kickoff return to build a 41-15 lead.

The Guard not made a near 7-hour road trip to retreat from adversity. Brook Hill used a 51-yard touchdown run by Taylor to pull within 41-21.

Then Campbell Fletcher got Brook Hill the ball back with an interception and Taylor went back to work, connecting with Parker Galbraith for a 31-yard touchdown. The extra point from Wyatt sliced the Guard’s deficit to 41-28 with 5:51 remaining.

MC answered with a TD run to re-establish a 20-point advantage. The Guard drove down to answer, but were eventually stopped and settled for a 33-yard field goal by Wyatt.

Another turnover late in the half hurt Brook Hill and enabled MC to score twice in the final minute.

The Guard were unable to keep answering Midland Christian in the second, which tacked on three more TDs for the final scoreline.

It was the final game for several Brook Hill seniors:

ALEC KITT

CHIDIBERE NECHI

LOGAN FITZGERALD

PARKER GALBRAITH

JORDAN WYATT

BROOKS PARHAM

JORDON MCGOWEN

JORDAN DAY

JOSEPH ARDI

DAKOTA GILLESPIE

DEVIN COSTLOW