When Friday night ended, every high school state playoff football game had been played, except for one. All but two teams in the state knew they would be either playing next week or staying at home.
As the UHSAA Class 2A’s No. 5 seed, the North Summit Braves were one of those teams. Their opponent, the fourth-seeded Enterprise Wolves.
Unfortunately for the Braves, they will be the team staying home next as North Summit fell 24-8 to Enterprise in the quarterfinals of the state tournament.
As they’ve done all season, the Braves relied on their defense. And for the most part, that unit did its job. They held the Wolves to just 24 points, and for a Braves offense who’s scored 38+ points in three of their last five, that should’ve been enough.
But the offense struggled to finish their own drives against a very good Wolves defense as well. The Braves were able to move the ball but struggled to capitalize when it mattered most.
Enterprise drew first blood midway through the first quarter on a rushing touchdown by Bryant Jimenez. The Braves defense then held pat until the Wolves scored another rushing touchdown late in the second half. A 25-yard field goal by Enterprise at the half put North Summit into a 17-0 hole.
Jimenez put the game away for the Wolves with his second touchdown of the game, this one coming on a 10-yard rush 6:56 to play.
The Braves refused to quit and continued to fight.
Junior Tyler Hirzel had a 6-yard rushing touchdown and followed that up with the two-point conversion at the 3:00 mark to complete the scoring.
The good news for the Braves is that they are returning a very good core next season, led by Hirzel, wide receiver Jake McCurdy and quarterback Crimzon Crittenden.
