BRAWLEY— The 81st renewal of the Bell Game came down to a dominating performance by Brawley, which controlled both sides of the ball to defeat Central Union 54-0 at Warne Field on Friday night.
Brawley senior quarterback Matthew Gutierrez, who finally got to celebrate a Bell Game victory on his fourth try, said the extent of the victory was more than the Wildcats imagined.
“This is unreal it’s a great feeling to get a win on my fourth try,” Gutierrez said. “We thought coming in we could dominate Central, but the score surprised me.”
With the victory, Brawley claimed the Imperial Valley League championship and will enter next weeks CIF-San Diego Section Divisional Football Playoffs as the Southeastern Conference’s top seed.
Brawley scored on its possession after deferring the opening kickoff. The Wildcats marched 53 yards on ten plays with Gutierrez running into the end zone from eight yards out.
On Brawley’s second possession, the Wildcats took over on their own 17-yard-line, opening the drive with a pass from Gutierrez to fellow senior Sergio Garcia good for 38 yards. Five plays later, Gutierrez again found Garcia on a 30-yard touchdown pass play.
Central, which moved the ball at times during the first half behind senior running back Nico Viesca, was again forced to punt on its third possession.
On the ensuing drive, Gutierrez first found senior slotback Sergio Garcia on a 38-yard pass and four plays later capped the drive again finding Garcia for a 30-yard touchdown.
Garcia has the unique distinction of having been on both sides of winning a Bell Game, winning as a freshman and sophomore at Central before spending a year playing at La Costa Canyon before returning to the Imperial Valley to play for Brawley.
“Playing in games like this elevates my game, he said. The atmosphere always brings the best out in me.
Brawley Union Highs Matthew Moreno receives a pass and prepares to run into the end zone during the 81st Bell game against Central Union High held in Brawley on Friday night.
Still in the second quarter, Gutierrez would find seniors Roy Rosas and Matthew Moreno on touchdown passes. The Wildcats led 27-0 at halftime.
Moreno and Garcia both scored third-quarter touchdowns to give Brawley a 41-10 lead.
The Wildcats added two fourth-quarter touchdowns from sophomore quarterback Noah Castro and special teams score by sophomore Kevin Valenzuela, who stripped the ball from a Central player on a kickoff and returned it for a touchdown.
— TOM RONCO