Rancho Bernardo treks to Brawley, returns with a win

BRAWLEY — Controlling a game marred by penalties and turnovers, Rancho Bernardo High School defeated  Brawley Union 28-7 at Warne Field here on Friday.

The only prior meeting between these two teams took place last November in a CIF-SDS Division 1 opening-round playoff game in San Diego, with the Broncos prevailing by a point. Both teams, hurt by graduation, continue to play physical football.

“We made a lot of mistakes and penalties, but this is a tough place to play,” Rancho Bernardo coach Eric Weddle said. “We have a young team, the totality of the team is without meaningful varsity experience and we were trying to navigate the first half of the season and go from there.”

One of three returning Bronco starters on offense is Gaige Weddle, the coach’s son. While he’s just a sophomore, the younger Weddle directs the offense like a veteran.

Weddle completed 11 of 15 passes for 217 yards and three first-half touchdowns while also carrying the ball five times for 47 yards.

“The turnovers hurt us tonight,” Gaige Weddle said. “We had drives going and then turnovers or penalties stopped us…all you can do is persevere, go out there every time with a let’s-just-keep-going mentality.”

Rancho Bernardo forced Brawley into a punt on the Wildcats’ first possession and shanked the punt attempt, putting the Broncos on the Brawley 46-yard line.

Weddle connected with senior Christian Gonzalez with a 13-yard pass, then junior Rylan Franklin for 30 yards, finishing the five-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Gonzalez to give the Broncos a 7-0 lead at the 7:44 mark of the first quarter.

Following RB’s quick touchdown drive, the Wildcats tried to play keep-away. Brawley’s offense waited for the back judge to signal five seconds left on the play clock before snapping.

Brawley, who didn’t throw a pass until the last two minutes of the game, also used their option running game to slow the game down, controlling the ball for six minutes before the Broncos blocked a field goal attempt.

Weddle then drove the Broncos 88 yards on 14 plays, the biggest a 24-yard scramble by the quarterback, finishing with another touchdown toss to Gonzalez from the four-yard line.

After leading 14-0 at halftime, Rancho Bernardo fumbled on their second-half opening drive before forcing Brawley to turn the ball over on downs on the ensuing drive.

“We knew what their offense would be, and we came out physical,” said Weddle, who also plays safety. “They were trying to run the ball and the clock, and we found ways to counter them.”

On Rancho Bernardo’s next possession, Weddle needed just two plays, a 12-yard run by junior Nikko Kaminis, and a 57-yard pass to Gonzalez to get the Broncos back on the scoreboard.

“I ran a post route and I looked for the defensive back to open up and I snapped it off and got a step on him,” Gonzalez said. “Gaige and I work on that to get the timing down and to be on the same page at all times.”

Brawley would mount their only scoring drive to open the fourth quarter, with sophomore running back Jonathan Piseno carrying the ball five straight plays, the last one a 12-yard burst for a touchdown.

Rancho Bernardo would come back with one more big play, this one a 30-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Brock Fields to fellow junior wide receiver Trevor Damiano.

Next up: Rancho Bernardo (2-0) will host Torrey Pines (1-0), while Brawley (0-2) travels from the desert to meet Mission Bay (2-0).

For the Broncos, it will be another opportunity to learn and grow.

“It is better to learn and win, and tonight they navigated the mistakes and penalties and we got the win,” Eric Weddle said.

— TOM RONCO