Brewster Bears win home season opener against Liberty Bell

BREWSTER – They waited until the second half to do it, but the Brewster Bears, on the strength of two touchdowns from freshman running back Gio Nila, held off a tenacious Liberty Bell team for a 14-6 win in last Friday’s home opener at Champion Field. Nila rushed from three and five yards out for the two scores.
Nila had nine carries for 42 yards, plus two pass receptions for another 12 yards.
Head coach Jake Johanson credited his defense with holding the Mountain Lions to a single TD that came after Brewster turned the ball over deep in Bears’ territory on the 20-yard line.
Brewster attempted a two-point conversion following Nila’s first score but came up short.
Senior Connor Wiggs called a quarterback keeper after the second TD and ran the ball for the second conversion attempt for Brewster’s final points.
Johanson singled out the play of several on his team who help contribute to Brewster’s first-game win.
Junior Alfredo Nila “played a great game on defense leading the team with eight tackles, a sack and one blocked kick,” Johanson said.
Senior defensive back Ricardo Gallaga added six tackles and a pass break-up to the defensive effort.
“Anthony Talavera had a huge sack on third down to force them into a long passing situation late in the game,” Johanson said.
Wiggs connected on eight of 12 passes for 38 yards and added another 40 yards on the ground.
 At the offensive wide receiver position, Ricardo Gallaga carried the ball 11 times for 46 yards and caught five passed for another 25 yards.
The Bears face Omak of the 1A Caribou Trail League in a non-league encounter on the road at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8
“Omak will be a huge test for us as we move forward,” said Johanson. “We get some more bodies for this game and will have to run the ball more effectively and play great defense again to have a chance against them.”