Leigh was firing on all cylinders Friday night en route to a 29-13 victory over visiting rival Branham, beating the Bruins for the sixth straight time in the series.
After a first quarter where neither team could find much success through the air, both teams took to the ground in an attempt to attack each other’s struggling run defense, making the game an exciting display of pure smash- mouth football.
After a back and forth first half which ended 6-6, Leigh came out and seized momentum two minutes into the third quarter, when senior Gabe Davis returned a punt 64 yards for a touchdown, giving the Longhorns their first lead of the night.
Leigh added to the lead with a 40-yard field goal by senior kicker Michael Leitchman to make the score 15-6 when Branham running back Germani Rodgers turned a dump-off pass into a 39-yard touchdown. Tyler Nall kicked the extra point, and with 9:55 to play, Branham had pulled to within 15-13.
Determined not to relinquish their lead, the Longhorns received the ball on their own 20, and turned to halfback Lavon Donald, who responded with a 58-yard sprint down the right sideline to the Branham 22-yard line. Halfback Sean Cosentino then set Leigh up in scoring position with a 15-yard run to the Branham 5 before Donald took it in from there to boost Leigh's lead to 22-13 with just under nine minutes left in the game.
The teams then traded punts, setting the stage for for a 30-yard touchdown pass from Leigh quarterback Gabe Davis to Alec Smith on fourth-and-long, clinching the game for the Longhorns.
After the game, Donald credited his offensive line for his 208-yard, one-touchdown effort.
"Everybody did their job," Donald said. "My line did a great job every time I ran the ball."
“It’s always fun to beat Branham,” added Leigh coach Kyle Padia, who formerly coached at Branham. “They play hard, and are always intense, but it has been nine years since we lost to Branham, and hopefully we will have another nine."
The Longhorns (3-4) hope to carry the intensity from this victory onward through the rest of the season, in hopes of securing a berth in CCS, starting with a game against Westmont next week. Branham will keep searching for its first win with a Homecoming game against Mount Pleasant this Friday night.
