Union Grove High School

Union Grove’s Spang sparks comeback victory

 

Defense forces five turnovers including 3 picks

Jacob Ross, shown here on a 75-yard run, continues to be a game-breaker for the Broncos. (Mike Ramczyk/SLN)

 

By Tim Wester

Sports Correspondent

Ten minutes was all the Union Grove football team needed.

After limping through three quarters of football, the Broncos’ offense finally responded with 21 unanswered points to stun host Delavan-Darien 21-14 Friday Sept. 15.

Broncos senior quarterback Alec Spang fired a pair of touchdowns and ran for another, while the defense recorded five turnovers to lead the way to victory.

The shell-shocked Comets, who quietly walked off their home field and huddled with their coach Brett St. Arnauld, were left searching for answers after squandering a 14-point lead in the fourth.

The Comets found the right answer early in the first quarter when quarterback Dakota Williams hit Mateo Morales on a 17-yard touchdown pass.

Williams later dialed up Logan Rios for a 46-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter to open a 14-0 advantage.

But the Comets never built on their two-touchdown advantage as the opportunistic Bronco defense created five turnovers, including three interceptions to stay in contention.

Union Grove’s offense failed to capitalize on the turnovers as the unit failed to score points against the Comets’ defense through three quarters.

Spang finally turned things around early in the fourth when he connected with Jacob Ross on a five-yard touchdown pass to cut it to 14-7.

Spang later capped a scoring drive with a 1-yard touchdown run to cut it to 14-13. After Spang missed the extra point kick, it was up to him to make amends on the Broncos’ final scoring drive.

The senior signal caller didn’t let his team down and put the Broncos ahead 19-14 with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Jake Pettit late in the fourth. Spang then converted the two-point play with a pass to Carson LaPointe to make it 21-14.

Before the Broncos could celebrate, the Comets drove to the 2-yard line on the ensuing possession and a chance to force overtime.

Bronco defensive end Dillon Brixius crushed Delavan-Darien’s comeback aspirations with a clutch sack to end the heart-pounding game in Union Grove’s favor.

The Broncos look to build off their late-game heroics tonight when they host Wilmot.

The Panthers, who started off the season 1-3, are coming off an impressive 36-0 victory over Elkhorn last week.

 

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