Baumholder still perfect after romp over Brussels
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BAUMHOLDER, Germany --- Six different Baumholder Buccaneers found the end zone Friday night, leading the Bucs to a 57-6 Division III victory over the Brussels Brigands.
The steady rain didn’t dampen the spirits of the homecoming Baumholder crowd as the Bucs put up 21 points in the first quarter, a lead that was never in jeopardy the rest of the night.
All of Baumholder’s touchdowns came on the ground as the Bucs’ potent rushing offense overwhelmed the Brigands, whose roster includes eight players who have never played football before this season.
The win moved the Bucs to 3-0 on the season, their first in the nine-man football format. The Brigands fell to 0-3 on the year.
Senior Ben Holliday put the first points on the board for Baumholder, his first of two touchdowns for the game. Junior Anthony Hendrix matched Holliday’s output as he scored early in the first quarter and added another six points shortly before halftime.
Bucs seniors Ben McDaniels and Dasante’ Browne, junior Isaak Giefer and sophomore Isaiah Wilson were the other Baumholder rushers to score touchdowns.
The Bucs All-European McDaniels said he’s satisfied with his team’s performance, but noted they’ve got to cut back on penalties, which were flying out of the referee’s pockets on a regular basis Friday night.
Holliday was quick to credit the guys who helped him find the end zone.
“Our blocking was phenomenal,” Holliday said. “A couple of plays, I didn’t get touched.”
The lone score for the Brigands came in the second quarter on a well executed 80-yard pass from Brussels sophomore Hayden Pfefferkorn that connected with senior Kristian Javier, one of Javier’s 5 receptions for 113 yards on the night. Javier also carried the ball 11 times for 26 yards, most of them hard-fought as the Bucs defense was able to penetrate the line with ease on most plays.
“It’s not good, but they’re a very good team,” Javier said following the game. “We just need to get better and improve every day.”
Pfefferkorn put up good numbers through the air, connecting on 7 of 12 passes for 153 yards and the lone touchdown pass for the Brigands. Senior Aiden McGraw and junior Greg Norton anchored the Brigands defense, finishing with 10 tackles each.
Despite the strong start to the season, Baumholder isn’t ready to look ahead to the Division III championships just yet.
“It’s only half the season, we have the rest to play,” Holliday said. “Mentally, we’re 0 and 0.”
