Blue Devils score 13 unanswered to spoil Boyle’s debut
Virginia spoiled Jay Boyle’s debut Friday with a 13-6 victory at Sports Stadium.
The Broncos dominated the time of possession in their home and season opener, but turned the ball over four times and struggled down the stretch in the second half against a Blue Devils team that throttled Eveleth-Gilbert 46-8 in its opener a week prior. The Broncos didn’t have a game in Week 1.
“With it being Game 1, we’re definitely going to have to come out and play stronger later than we did,” Boyle said.
The Broncos scored first in the second quarter when Tim Myles scampered in from 4 yards out, capping a 14-play drive. The Broncos converted two fourth downs on the drive and got another first down on a third and 4 with a Virginia penalty.
The 14 plays were nearly half of the 39 plays the Broncos ran in the first half. Virginia had only 13 plays in the first half, among other struggles. They lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage and committed five penalties.
“We were just flat. We didn’t come ready to play,” Virginia head coach Ed Cremers said.
However, the Blue Devils escaped an even bigger deficit when Cavan Stackpool intercepted a pass by Ryan Tomevi in the end zone with 1.5 seconds left in the first half. The Broncos had a fourth and goal from the 3 with 7.6 seconds to play in the half before Tomevi’s turnover.
It was the second of four turnovers for the Broncos, who lost the momentum early in the second half.
“We’re going to have to take better care of the football,” Boyle said.
In the second half, the Broncos had a goal line stand to halt Virginia’s opening drive, but then the offense started moving backwards. A roughing the passer penalty gave the Broncos a first and 10 from the Virginia 20, but three plays later it was fourth and 28 from the 1. The Broncos got the punt off, but it was the next punt that proved decisive.
On fourth and 6 from the Broncos 40, Stackpool took the snap in punt formation and ran to the right. Instead of punting, however, he found Trey Carlson and the connection went 40 yards for a touchdown.
“It was a breakdown,” Boyle said. “We didn’t cover it as well as we should the first time and we got burned on it.”
The Broncos lost a fumble on the next possession and the offense continued to struggle.
Austin Becicka scored the game-winning touchdown with 10:53 in the fourth on a 19 yard run.
The Broncos turned it over on downs on the ensuing drive, lost a fumble a drive later and the game was put on ice with 25 seconds left when Jace Friedlieb intercepted a Tomevi pass on fourth and 11 from the Virginia 20.
Tomevi had a good game on the ground, scrambling around for 72 yards on 17 carries, but he finished only 1 of 10 passing for 15 yards. Richards added 54 yards on 12 carries and Myles had only 15 yards on 18 carries.
“We had no offensive push at the end,” Myles said. “We couldn’t score at the end.”
Becicka led the Blue Devils (2-0) with 94 yards on just six carries, while Stackpool ran nine times for 34 yards. Quarterback Jordan Krebsbach finished 3-for-13 for 64 yards and ran nine times for 30 yards.
“We need to get better making adjustments on the fly and that will come with game experience,” Boyle said.
The Broncos return to action Friday and hit the road at Hermantown. The Hawks crushed Proctor on Friday 33-6.
“It’ll be a good game,” Boyle said.
Game notes
• Krebsbach switched numbers from No. 12 to No. 17 early in the first half when blood got on his jersey. The blood was a problem for about nine Virginia players, according to Cremers.
• Broncos freshman Nick Janttie missed the game with a concussion. He’s expected back this week. Also missing the game were Philip Ruelle, who was academically ineligible, and Kevin Neagbour, who was out with a Minnesota State High School League violation.
Virginia 0 0 6 7—13
I. Falls 0 6 0 0—6
Second Quarter
IF — Myles 4 run (run failed), 4:15
Third Quarter
V — Carlson 40 pass from Stackpool (kick blocked), 7:00
Fourth Quarter
V — Becicka 19 run (Stackpool kick), 1:07
I. Falls Summary Virginia 59-181-3.1 Rushing 26-134-5.2
1/10-15-15.0 Passing 4/13-106-26.5
69-196-2.8 Total Yards 39-240-6.2
2-77-38.5 Kicking 3-122-40.7
3-42-14.0 Kick Returns 2-27-13.5
2-73-36.5 Punting 3-109-36.3
N/A Punt Returns 1-7-7.0
0/1-0/0 PAT-FG 1/2-0/0
15 1st Downs 3
6/2 Fumbles/Lost 1/1
0 Int. by 2-1-0.5
0 Sacks by 2-2-1.0
1 P-K Blocked by 0
