September 9, 2003
In a game played in light rain or the threat of rain, Brick beat cross-town rival Brick Memorial, 30-7 with good defense and an opportunistic offense in a game with an 11:00 start.
Brick struck when Rich Tallmadge picked up an errant pitch on Brick Memorial’s first play and went 37 yards for the score. The rest of the quarter was uneventful, but Brick’s defense came up big again in the second quarter when Dylan DeAlmeida tackled quarterback Tyler Sindel in the end zone for a safety. Getting the ball, the Dragons took advantage when Jimmy Leblo scored on an 8-yard run, diving across the goal line, for a 16-0 lead.
Brick Memorial came out with the ball in the third quarter and marched down the field, scoring on a Sindel run of 10 yards, set up by a 26-yard run by Ja Billingsley. But Brick scored in the fourth quarter when Anthony Prato found Jimmy Leblo for a 10-yard touchdown early in the fourth quarter to make it 23-7. The Dragons closed the scoring on an 8-yard run midway through the quarter.
Brick’s defense was the story, limiting Brick Memorial’s flexbone option offense. With the exception of two drives, the scoring drive to open the second half and the drive just before the half, Brick Memorial found yards difficult to come by. Top players for the Brick defense were Cory Earnhardt at end, Tallmadge at linebacker, and cornerback Mike McGuigan intercepting two passes. The Dragons gained yards when they needed them and they used three quarterbacks in Prato, Leblo, and Cole Groschel.
With good play in all three phases of the game, Brick looks like a tough out the rest of the way.