Jerry Hill: We beat a tough team tonight

KILLEN - Benton Maxwell intercepted a pass and recovered a fumble to set up two second-quarter touchdowns, helping Brooks to a 17-0 win against R.A. Hubbard in a defensive struggle on a wet, sloppy field Friday night.

Maxwell's fumble recovery set up the Lions on the Hubbard 17 late in the first quarter. On the first play of the second quarter, quarterback Taylor Robertson, in for Alex Mitchell who was sustained a high ankle sprain last week against Deshler, ran a play-action pass for an easy throw-and-catch to Austin Hill for a 7-0 lead.

Maxwell's interception later in the quarter again resulted in Brooks starting on Hubbard's 17. The same pass-catch combination worked again with Robertson connecting with Hill on a slant route for a 10-yard score to give the Lions a 14-0 lead.

Robertson finished 10 of 29 for 96 yards with two touchdowns and an interception.

"Taylor is a good quarterback and he did a good job for us tonight," Brooks head coach Jerry Hill said. "He did a good job limiting us to only one turnover, which is great in these conditions."

Brooks (8-2) was only able to muster 132 yards of total offense, with only 36 of that on the ground. However, the Lions defense held Hubbard to only 71 yards of total offense and forced six turnovers, three interceptions and three fumbles. Brooks' only turnover came when Clifton Benford picked off a Robertson pass.

"I'm proud of our defense," Hill said. "I'm proud of the way they bounced back after a big loss. We beat a tough team tonight."

Will Rayburn tacked on a 26-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make the score 17-0.

Hubbard (8-2) heads to the playoffs as the Class 1A, Region 8 champions. The Chiefs will host Parrish in the first round.

"This was a disappointing loss for us," Hubbard head coach Aaron Goode said. "We gave it our best shot. We're disappointed, but we have to move on. We have some big things left to do.

Brooks, the Class 4A, Region 8 runner-up, will host North Jackson in the first round.