Brebeuf rode a dominant defensive performance to a 33-0 shutout victory over Cardinal Ritter at Marian University on a night when the real winner was the weather. Both teams struggled to throw, catch, snap, and hold the football in a steady first half rain, but the Braves got the better of it, holding the home team to a paltry three first downs and 42 yards of total offense for the game, while recovering four Ritter fumbles. Offensively, Brebeuf got three touchdown passes, but none from their starting quarterback. Jayden Warren threw a 12-yard half back TD pass to Brian Vaughn on an untimed down at the end of the first half, a play that resulted from a Ritter personal foul on what would have been the final play of the first half. That score (Warren’s second of the half, after a 3-yard rush for the game’s first points) gave Brebeuf a 21-0 halftime lead, which- the way the Braves defense was playing- proved to be insurmountable. Backup QB Luke Lautenbach threw two scoring passes to Zeb Cox in the fourth quarter to provide the final margin. In between those bookends, however, the night belonged to Brebeuf’s defense. Ritter, who came into the game 4-4, averaged 44 points in their four victories, and hadn’t been shut out all season. Brebeuf held them to three-and-outs on their first eight possessions, not allowing the Raiders a first down until the 8:45 mark of the third quarter. Ritter gained less than 1 yard per offensive snap, an almost unheard-of number, due in part to their being held to -21 yards on 24 rushing attempts. The rain made it tough for both teams, as Ritter lost four of seven fumbles, while Brebeuf lost one fumble and turned the ball over another time on a slippery-ball-through-wet-hands interception on the Braves’ first drive. Ritter also played some pretty good D, holding the high-powered Braves offense under 300 yards, and keeping Warren and Jasir King reasonably contained (combined 128 yds on 32 carries). The two teams punted fourteen times (yawn) but only three of the fourteen were returned, partially because slick footballs were doing funny things coming off of kickers’ and punters’ cleats all evening. The victory moves Brebeuf to 5-4 and ends the regular season on an up note heading into 4A Sectional 21 play next week, where they will host Shortridge. Come cheer on your Braves as they look to extend their streak of never having lost a first round sectional game in Matt Geske’s seven years as head coach. Go Braves!