Photos by Emily Glasscock
On Thursday, October 27, the undefeated Glenbrook Apaches took on the defending Class 1A State Champions, Homer High School Pelicans, in the most important and exciting match up of the season. Though it was tough, the Apaches fought hard every second of the game, leading to Glenbrook winning the matchup against Homer with a final score of 21-14. The Apaches were not predicted to win, but they once again shocked their peers and came out on top, which resulted in the Apaches earning the title of the 2022 District 1-1A Champions.
To begin the game, senior football captains DJ Carter, Cason Clemons, Dayton Sims and Hayden Harmon represented the Apaches for the coin toss, which the Apaches won. The Apaches chose to receive, and after the Pelicans recovered the ball from their own onside kick, Maddox Mandino, Rhett Johnson, Tre Kent and Preston Pope made essential defensive tackles. Daivari Jackson brought up the rear as he made a huge stop on third down. On fourth down, Glenbrook’s defense stopped the Pelicans’ attempted pass, which Sims and Kent successfully deflected and the Apaches took over on downs.
After the turnover, Carter made a huge run until stepping out of bounds, leading to an Apache first down. After a penalty against the Pelicans, the ball was moved to the Pelicans’ 30 yard line. The Apaches used the yardage advancement to move the ball farther down the field, but they turned over on downs on the Pelicans’ 17 yard line. To conclude the first quarter, Garrett Brown and Pope made strong tackles to hold the Pelicans and keep the score 0-0.
At the top of the second quarter, Brown, Kent and Toby Haulmark each made crucial tackles as Johnson also made a huge stop. To follow these successful plays, Landry Powell made a massive stop against Homer’s offense. As the Pelicans continued in their attempts toward the Apaches’ end zone, Kent saw an opening and intercepted the Pelicans’ ball. The Apaches used the interception to gain significant yardage as they pushed the ball 43 yards down the field.
The Apaches felt the pressure, but quarterback Ty Feaster ran the ball to the end zone scoring the first touchdown and extra point of the night with 4:01 remaining in the first half, making the score 7-0. The Pelicans took over at midfield and moved the ball to the 13 yard line. Homer scored their first touchdown and extra point with 2:06 remaining in the half.
In a post game interview, Coach Feaster expressed his happiness with playing Homer because “there were few penalties because everyone played with such great attitudes, which is something both teams strive to do.”
The Apaches gained possession of the ball on their own 33 yard line, leading to Feaster completing multiple passes, but the Apaches were forced to punt, leading to Homer taking over on their own 24 yard line with 0:43 left until the half. Powell stepped up and made a huge quarterback sack, soon followed by a joint tackle to Homer’s quarterback with Brown, resulting in an incomplete Pelican pass. At the end of the first half, the score was 7-7.
Starting the third quarter, the Apaches took over on defense and attempted an onside kick, which was recovered midfield by Homer. Powell took charge once again and sacked the quarterback, which later forced the Pelicans to punt.
After Glenbrook regained possession of the ball, Feaster completed passes to Carter, Turner McLelland, Chase Sentell and Mandino. Setting up at the 2 yard line, Feaster handed the ball off to Mandino, who found his way to the end zone with 8:00 left in the quarter making the score 14-7.
The Apache defense took to the field, where Johnson and Sims deflected passes and ultimately forced Homer to punt. Glenbrook’s offense then took over as Feaster completed long passes to Clemons and Carter. The Apaches attempted a field goal from the 25 yard line, however, the ball faded just outside the goal post, allowing the Pelicans to take the ball back. Homer moved to offense and completed a deep pass that moved the ball to Glenbrook’s 5 yard line. The Pelicans scored a touchdown and successful extra point, once again adjusting the score to 14-14 with only 0:45 left in the third quarter.
With the score tied, the Apaches fought to increase their points on the board. After being pushed back to their 20 yard line, Glenbrook was forced to punt, leading to the Pelicans taking over on their 34 yard line, but was quickly followed by Johnson and Kent making big defensive tackles. In one of the most exciting plays of the night, Clemons intercepted the ball, giving the Apaches a burst of momentum. Feaster then passed the ball to Mandino, who made a huge run for the Apaches moving the ball deep into Pelican territory.
Homer’s defense forced Feaster to run the ball, which slipped out of his hands as several Pelican defenders tackled him, but McLelland recovered it at Homer’s 15 yard line. Feaster then completed another pass to Mandino, who secured the ball in the end zone, resulting in a touchdown and extra point for Glenbrook.
With 8:24 left in the fourth quarter, the Apaches took the lead 21-14. After the Apaches attempted an unsuccessful onside kick, the Pelicans took over at their 42 yard line, but were quickly stopped by Luke Vining and Johnson. Vining played an integral role in the game as he not only led the Apache offensive line, but also stepped in and played most of the game on the defensive line as well. As a result of Glenbrook’s unbreakable defense, Homer was forced to punt the football.
The Apaches took over on their 41 yard line as Feaster passed the ball to Sentell, but the Apaches were also forced to punt. The Pelicans took over the ball on their 48 yard line, but that Apache defensive line would not allow them to break through, which Coach Feaster claimed was the main reason the Apaches won the game. The Pelicans attempted to complete two passes, which were both deflected by Sentell.
Meanwhile, Carter and Powell held off the Pelican offense and made huge tackles and stops. The Pelicans tried to break through the Apache defensive line but were no match for Powell as he stormed through the offensive line, and yet again sacked the Pelican’s quarterback, forcing Homer to punt. With 1:56 left in the game, the Apaches took over midfield but fumbled the ball. The Pelicans took over in one last attempt to score. Carter and Powell made crucial stops as Clemons and Sentell successfully deflected Homer’s long pass attempts. For the last play of the game, Johnson saw an opening and sacked the quarterback sealing another Apache win.
The Apaches held off the Pelicans each quarter and never let them get ahead, which is something Coach Feaster was proud of. Feaster explained that his message to his team is, “Keep doing what you are doing, you have been great and coachable all year long, and you’ve done everything we have asked.”
With the final score of 21-14, the Apaches have taken the title of the District 1-1A Champions with an undefeated season thus far and extending their winning streak to an incredible 15 games. Next week, the Glenbrook Apaches will take on the River Oaks Mustangs at Apache Stadium for Week 10 of the regular season.
Prior to the game, Glenbrook will honor their Senior football players, cheerleaders and Sundancers this Friday, November 4. 11 Glenbrook football players will be honored, which holds special significance, as mentioned by Coach Feaster, because most of them have been a part of the Apache Football team for many years, most of which since the seventh or eighth grade and have seen the program evolve in many ways. We hope you will come out and help us celebrate this special group of athletes, and as we say in the Glenbrook family, “It’s a great day to be an Apache!”
