Junior quarterback Nick Bandanza threw five touchdown passes and Branham took a huge step toward a perfect regular season with a 42-27 win at previously undefeated Willow Glen Friday night in a BVAL-Santa Teresa Division showdown.
Bandanza's 21-yard touchdown pass to Nick Parise in the fourth quarter gave the Bruins an insurmountable 21-point lead, though Willow Glen's Marquez Barba added a one-yard run for the final points of the night.
Branham started fast in the game, as Bandanza hooked up with Cameron Rynhard for a 44-yard scoring play, and Rynhard then added a 14-yard scoring run early in the second quarter for a 14-0 lead. Willow Glen quarterback Gabe Negrete ran one in from seven yards out to cut the Bruins' lead to 14-7, but Bandanza and Parise connected for an eight-yard touchdown to make a 13-point lead. Willow Glen got as close as it would all night later in the second quarter when Negrete found Michael Malvini for a five-yard score and then tossed a two-point conversion to make the score 20-15 at the half.
Bandanza pushed Branham's lead to 34-15 in the third quarter, with back-to-back touchdown passes to Matt Cordova, before Negrete added another scoring toss, this time to Jack Reilly on a 44-yarder to make it 34-21.
With the win, the Bruins (6-0, 3-0 BVAL-ST) took charge in the league title race, a half-game ahead of Overfelt (3-2, 2-0), which plays Saturday at Ann Sobrato. The Rams (5-1, 2-1) fell a full game out of first place.
More details will continue to follow through the weekend.
Branham travels to Overfelt next Friday night in another battle for first place while Willow Glen visits Silver Creek.
