Tigers’ Czion Brickle rains down on Mules with record performance
2023 Berks football coverage presented by
Utilities Employees Credit Union
By Matt Gaffney — MikeDragoSports.com correspondent
Sometimes the best game plan is to abandon it.
For Fleetwood coach Steven Pangburn, a steady downpour Friday night made the Tigers passing game a risky proposition, so the second-year coach turned to the run game.
“Mother Nature kind of trapped us into a game plan and once that game plan started, why would we get away from it?” said Pangburn.
After what transpired, Pangburn may want to consider giving Mother Nature a game ball for the coaching assist after a record-setting performance by senior running back Czion Brickle.
Brickle ran for a school record 306 yards and four touchdowns, smashing Tyler Emge’s previous record of 276 set in 2014, to lead the Tigers to an epic 44-41 Lancaster-Lebanon League Section 3 win over Solanco.
Brickle, who ran the ball 29 times, was an absolute force as eighteen of his rushing attempts went for first downs with six gaining 20-plus yards.
The senior running back was speechless when told he set a school record.
“That’s crazy. I’m at a loss for words,” said Brickle. “It feels good to make my family proud.”
Both Brickle and his coach were quick to give credit to the offensive line.
“They did a great job upfront,” said the senior running back. “We have very good linemen. They (Solanco) couldn’t stop the run, so we just kept running the ball.”
The Fleetwood offensive line of Hunter Svoboda, Hunter Leister, Noah Rothermel, Cody Harders and Brandon Delgrosso, along with H-back Benjamin Miller and tight end Landon Hare, opened up running lanes all night.
The holes allowed Brickle and backfield mate Jason Petion, who rushed for 114 yards and a touchdown, to gain positive yards all night.
Once Pangburn saw the success his team was having with the run he didn’t deviate.
“Once you know you can have your way with a team up front, you don’t have to be tricky,” he said. “The play sheet was pretty small tonight.”
It was a wild game that saw 11 lead changes, five 100-yard rushers, 887 total offensive yards, a lightning delay and a thrilling, last-second finish.
After Brickle’s fourth touchdown gave the Tigers a 44-41 lead with six minutes left the Mules embarked on a 15-play, 5:54 drive to the 5.
Facing third-and-goal with 11 seconds remaining, Solanco quarterback Austin Jarabak lofted a pass to Austin Wenger in the back of the end zone but freshman Davyan Moore made a leaping one-handed interception to secure the win.
It was the play of his young lifetime; the defensive back didn’t want to let his teammates down.
“I was just trying to do my part,” Moore said. “It’s Senior Night so I don’t want the seniors going out with a loss for their last home game, so you know, I just had to step up and do my part and help us win.”
“Hats off to the freshman for making the biggest play of the game,” said Pangburn. “We put the young man on an island. I couldn’t see it from my angle, but I heard it was a helluva catch.”
With the victory, Fleetwood stays in contention for a postseason berth, most likely in the Eastern Conference playoffs.
The Tigers (1-4, 4-5) opened the game with a quick six-play, 85-yard drive capped by Brickle’s 42-yard run. That play carried Brickle over 1,000 yards for the season.
Solanco (2-4, 3-6) came right back with an efficient six-play drive as Kris Burgos took it in from 15 yards out.
Trading scores became the theme of the night and Fleetwood held up their end of the bargain with a massive 17-play 70-yard drive. Petion finished it off with an 11-yard run to give the Tigers a 14-7 lead.
The Mules didn’t waste much time on their next drive that took all of a minute, as fullback Johnny Garcia plowed into the end zone from 5 yards out. Garcia’s score was set up by a 43-yard Landon Steele run. Lightning lit up the sky before Solanco could line up for the PAT, forcing the teams into the locker rooms for thirty minutes.
The weather delay did little to slow either team down.
The teams continued to pile up the yards and points throughout the first half as Fleetwood went into intermission up 22-21.
Solanco’s Jarabak hit Austin Weder for a 7-yard score with 7:13 to go in the third quarter to give the Mules a 27-22 lead. The lead lasted a total of 16 seconds as the Tigers’ Tristan McFarland returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards for a touchdown.
Garcia and the Mules answered with a quick 7-play drive as the sophomore fullback scored his second touchdown of the contest. He finished with 126 yards rushing.
After Brickle scored his third touchdown, Solanco countered with Jarabak’s second score of the night, an 11-yard keeper. It was the Mules’ final points before Moore’s late-game heroics that sealed the win for Fleetwood.
Pangburn was ecstatic about his team’s performance and agreed it was the biggest win of his short tenure.
“No doubt, no doubt,” he said. “We’ve been grinding and we’ve had moments. We’ve been up, we’ve been down. This meant a lot.”
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | Final | |
| Solanco | 7 | 14 | 13 | 7 | 41 |
| Fleetwood | 6 | 16 | 15 | 7 | 44 |
Scoring summary
| 1 | Fleetwood | Brickle, 42 run (kick failed) | 9:15 |
| 1 | Solanco | Burgos, 15 run (Keys kick) | 6:29 |
| 2 | Fleetwood | Petion, 11 run (Brickle run) | 10:23 |
| 2 | Solanco | Garcia, 5 run (Burgos run) | 9:08 |
| 2 | Fleetwood | Brickle, 1 run (Brickle run) | 2:41 |
| 2 | Solanco | Weder, 7 pass from Jarabak (run failed) | 1:13 |
| 3 | Solanco | Jarabak, 1 run (run failed) | 7:13 |
| 3 | Fleetwood | McFarland, 90 kick return (Brickle run) | 6:57 |
| 3 | Solanco | Garcia 7 run (Keys kick) | 3:38 |
| 3 | Fleetwood | Brickle 23 run (Maurek kick) | 1:23 |
| 4 | Solanco | Jaraback 11 run (Keys kick) | 10:10 |
| 4 | Fleetwood | Brickle 24 run (Maurek kick) | 6:07 |
Team statistics
| Solanco | Fleetwood | |
| First downs | 22 | 23 |
| Rushes-yards | 54-374 | 52-426 |
| Passing yards | 68 | 19 |
| Total yards | 442 | 445 |
| Passes | 2-5-1 | 2-3-0 |
| Fumbles-lost | 0-0 | 3-1 |
| Punts-average | 0-0 | 0-0 |
| Penalties-yards | 5-25 | 7-65 |
Individual statistics
RUSHING
Solanco: Garcia 19-126, Steele 10-125, Burgos 11-122, Jarabak 5-29, Nolan 5-23, Bangura 3-17, Team 1-0.
Fleetwood: Brickle 29-306, Petion 19-114, Riffle 1-7, Team 1-0, Killian 2-(-1).
PASSING
Solanco: Jarabak 2-5-1—68.
Fleetwood: Riffle 2-3-0—19.
RECEIVING
Solanco: Wenger 1-61, Weder 1-7.
Fleetwood: Musitano 1-19, Brickle 1-0.
INTERCEPTIONS
Fleetwood: Moore.
