East Central gave up a touchdown on the first play Thursday at Farris Stadium, and that was all the momentum Brennan needed.

The Bears (3-0), No. 3 in the TexasHSFootball.com statewide Class 4A rankings, established the early lead and held it throughout a 49-21 non-district win over the Hornets, No. 29 in the website’s Class 5A rankings. However, East Central (2-1) was in striking range for most of the game.

“We came back and made it 7-7, but they came back to score three more touchdowns within the first half,” East Central coach Clint Hartman said. “We gave them a punt return, a long pass and a pick-six. You do that against them, and you’re not going to be in very good shape.”

Brennan took a 7-0 lead 15 seconds into the game when Joshua Luna intercepted a pass and returned it 20 yards to the end zone.

The Hornets scored the equalizer with 9:14 left in the quarter. Junior running back Javion Polk cashed in a three-yard run. One play earlier, Bears standout Grant Watanabe, a University of Colorado commit, made an apparent intereption in the end zone, but a Brennan penalty wiped it out.

At the time, it was a big turning point for the Hornets, but Brennan just kept driving.

Senior quarterback Da’Shawn Key, in his fourth year as a starter for the fledgling program, threw touchdown passes of 26 yards to Makai Green and 3 yards to Jeremy Kelleher to give Brennan a 21-7 lead.

A one-play, 33-yard scoring drive following 25-yd punt return extended the Bears’ lead to.28-7. Key connected with Green (76 yards, 4 receptions) for the touchdown with 3:46 until halftime.

The Hornets’ biggest play of the night followed quickly. East Central senior quarterback Jeremy Jones (81 passing yards) found junior Wanya Ward on 68-yard pass play. East Central was within 28-14 at halftime.

“We learned that when we block and execute, we’re a pretty good football team,” Hartman said. “On that touchdown pass, we did what we needed to do.”

Brennan opened the second half with a long, time-consuming scoring drive. Key scored on an 11-yard keeper around the right to give the Bears a 20-point leads with 7:11 remaining in the third quarter.

East Central senior defensive back Russell Brown was in perfect position to pick off a medium-deep throw to the right flat from Key. Brown returned it 85 yards for a touchdown, closing the Hornets within 34-21 with 5:34 to play in the third quarter

“We made a few mistakes here and there,” Brennan coach Stephen Bashore said. “East Central is explosive. If they get out in the open spaces, they’re gone. For the most part, though, we did a good job with our execution defensively.”

Luna scored his second touchdown on a one-yard run. Nathaniel Wells Jr. (85 yards, 14 carries) ran for the two-point conversion out of a swinging gate formation for 42-21 Bears lead late in the third quarter. Brennan finished with 427 total yards.

The Hornets were unable to mount a sustained drive during the game and mustered just 104 total yards. They played without senior back Johnathan Jackson. The New Mexico State University recruit has an ankle injury.

“He’ll be back next week, Hartman promised. “That will make us a little better.”
East Central sustained another injury during the game. Junior receiver Dallas Polasek corralled a pass over the middle from Jones for an apparent first down deep in Brennan territory with 7:59 remaining. However, Bears defensive back Christian Dillard knocked the ball free with a jarring hit.

Polasek was taken to a local hospital for observation, but Hartman said the injury wasn’t serious.

The failed fourth down attempt was East Central’s last gasp.

Brennan defensive end Derrick Roberson, a University of Texas commit, recovered bad snap on the East Central 1 with 4:30 to play. A. Bears penalty moved the ball back to the 16.

Still, Brennan worked its way back to the end zone. Key recorded his second rushing touchdown on a one-yard carry. He finished with 137 rushing yards and 141 passing yards.

“We felt good until early in the fourth quarter,” Hartman said. “When we were down 14 going into the fourth, that was not a big issue. When you lose a football game like that, it’s the coaches’ fault, not the kids’ fault. We’ve got to do a better job of coming up with preparation for them.”

The schedule won’t get any easier for East Central. The Hornets will play former district rival Judson next Friday at East Central. Nonetheless, Hartman isn’t pushing the panic button.

“We can’t worry about this,” he said. “My last two years (at Clear Springs) we started out 0-2 and 0-3, and we were district champions both years. This is not a big deal.”