BREWER – As they left the locker room and thundered down Doyle Field’s sloping hill to the playing surface, the unbeaten Brewer Witches knew they needed to make a statement early in the second half of Friday’s football game against Leavitt of Turner Center.

Usually, the Witches’ statements come in the form of a multi-faceted, punishing, productive run game, but on this clear and starry October night, the statement they were looking for came from the defense.

After playing somewhat tentatively and confused in the first half, the orange-and-black defense stuffed the Hornets for a two-yard loss on first down, a three-yard gain on second, and an incompletion on third to force a punt and fire up the entire team in the second half.

The spark struck by Brewer’s defense ignited the offense, and the Witches marched 39 yards on eight plays for a touchdown and held Leavitt in check en route to a 13-0 victory that clinched home field advantage throughout the Pine Tree Conference Class B playoffs.

Brewer also clinched first place with an 8-0 record.

“You know, you get this gaudy record and it’s hard to keep it out of their heads and going to their heads,” said Brewer coach Ed Ortego. “We’re fighters and we didn’t get here by worrying about our record.”

Instead, Ortego got them to worry about firing off the snap (offensively) and getting to the ball (defensively) faster in the second half.

“They were spreading us out a lot in the first half. We thought we weren’t aggressive enough and were letting them run over us,” said Brewer senior captain and two-way starter Chad Szylvian. “We just wanted to get off the ball quicker and drive them off the blocks.

“They’re big and quick and we’re small and quicker, so we wanted to use our speed and get after the ball.”

Get after it they did as the Witches, who were outrushed 49 yards to 43 and outpassed 74 yards to 21 in the first half, held the 5-3 Hornets to 23 yards on 11 carries and four completions for 48 yards in the second.

“They’ve got some fast kids,” said Leavitt coach Mike Hathaway. “That’s a very fast defense and they take good angles and tackle pretty well.”

After a five-yard run to the right side by quarterback Ricky Porter made it 6-0 with 6:25 left in the third quarter, Leavitt drove 34 yards in six plays to the B-27, but Szylvian drilled Brock Hardacker for a three-yard loss. One run play later, Porter intercepted Matt Cote’s pass at the B-13 and returned it 14 yards.

Brewer then mounted its longest drive, covering 73 yards in 13 plays and 61/2 minutes. Again, Porter capped it with a TD run, this one for seven yards with 7:55 left in the game.

“The second score was the one that really made it tough on us,” Hathaway said. “We had to manage the clock as well as fight their defense after that.”

Inside linebacker Szylvian helped lead the effort as he made three solo tackles for losses and forced two fumbles. Porter, Brandon Kingsbury, Mitch Peasley and Kevin McAvoy each intercepted Cote once.

McAvoy helped lead the Witches in multiple ways, but primarily his foot as three of his four punts were not returned and the other ended with a fair catch. He set the tone in the second half with a screaming kickoff into the end zone for a touchback.

“He’s a five-tool player and a tremendous asset for us,” Ortego said. “He’s the best punter and kicker in the league and he can pass and run too.”

In fact, McAvoy led the Witches ground game with 57 yards on eight carries.

“I just try to do whatever I can when I can,” said the senior two-way back.

Brewer gained 134 yards on 28 carries in the second half.

“We know if we stay close in a game, we can come back and bury people in the second half,” Szylvian said. “We have a lot of backs and we’re the most conditioned team out there.”

WITCHES 13, HORNETS 0

Leavitt (5-3) 0 0 0 0 – 0

Brewer (8-0) 0 0 6 7 – 13

B – Porter 5 run (rush failed)

B – Porter 7 run (McAvoy kick)

Leavitt Brewer

First downs 10 11

Rushing att.-yards 24-72 53-177

Passing comp.-att. 10-21 2-3

Passing yards 122 21

Total yards 194 198

Punts-avg. 2-33.5 4-36.0

Fumbles-lost 4-2 4-2

Intercepted by 0 4

Penalties-yards 1-2 6-50

Rushing

Leavitt: Brewer 9-41, Cote 6-20, Hardacker 7-6, Austin 1-5; Brewer: McAvoy 8-57, Wilson 15-49, Littlefield 10-39, Porter 17-24, Caldwell 3-8

Passing

Leavitt: Cote 9-20-4-107, C. Witham 1-1-0-15; Brewer: Porter 2-3-0-21

Receiving

Leavitt: Boulay 2-33, C. Witham 4-48, Brewer 1-19, Worcester 1-15, Hardacker 2-7; Brewer: Wilson 2-21

A-600 (est.)