'Smells like 10-0': Twelve Bridges tramples Del Campo, caps unbeaten regular season

Twelve Bridges High School head coach Chris Bean had an important message for his team after Friday night's 48-12 victory over Del Campo in Lincoln. He wanted his players to understand the magnitude of what they had just accomplished but understand that nothing after this week is guaranteed. "It smells like 10-0," Bean exclaimed to his team after the game. "Going 10-0 is a big deal. I am so proud of you all. We are on a mission; we're going to get ourselves a banner. You want to be remembered forever? Put a blue banner up, it's that simple." Bean's Raging Rhinos capped off their second consecutive undefeated regular season with the win, despite moving up to the Division III Foothill Valley League this year. In just year three as a varsity program, Twelve Bridges has won 20 consecutive regular season games and is a combined 22-1 over the last two seasons. Bean knows this isn't normal. New schools are supposed to take their lumps, not be in the running for section championships. With 18 starters from last season's squad lost to graduation, Bean said he didn't know what to expect from this year's team but after starting 4-0 he said he knew that there was a chance to go 10-0 again. "When we got out of that preseason and the way we played against Casa Roble, I realized that this team was stacking up wins," Bean said. "A lot of the credit goes to my coaching staff. I honestly have one of the most amazing coaching staffs and it starts with my defensive coordinator, Coach Fowler and on down the line. I really think we just get these kids in the best position to go out and be successful every Friday night." Twelve Bridges had to overcome a hot start by Del Campo, which entered the game looking to make a statement after entering the week on the bubble for the postseason. Bryce Smith took the first play from scrimmage 75 yards for a touchdown to put the Cougars on top 6-0 early and silence the Rhinos' home crowd. The Cougars were able to make things hard for Twelve Bridges initially, but the Rhinos found a way to break through and scored 41 unanswered points to take control of the game and cruise to victory. Bean said that he was happy to see his team break through but noted that the final score wasn't indicative of how tough the Cougars made things for the Rhinos. "I'm going to give a ton of credit to Del Campo. Those kids play hard," Bean said. "I gotta be honest even though the score shows 48 points, they make things very, very difficult. They have a tough defense to prepare for. It is a challenge and I kept telling everybody all week that this was not gonna be an easy game." Twelve Bridges was led offensively by senior running back Braeden Ward, who had four total touchdowns in the win and three in the first half. Ward opened the scoring for the Rhinos with a five-yard touchdown run and added scoring dashes of two yards and 78 yards later in the game. He also took a screen pass from Connor Flaherty 62 yards for a touchdown, fending off a Del Campo defender with his stiff arm as he barreled into the end zone. Flaherty also connected with Isaiah Rodriguez and Bradley Kirby for touchdowns as well. Gavin Rappa made his way to the end zone with a 70-yard touchdown run in the final seconds of the first half. The win secures the top seed in Division IV for Twelve Bridges, giving it a bye week in the opening round of the playoffs. Bean said that this year's team is feeling the weight of the section championship loss last season but said that they are eager to take things one week at a time and avenge that loss. "These kids definitely feel the aftermath of that loss because, how can you not? They were there and they were part of it but I think the roles they have on the team have changed so much," Bean said. "I'm not sure they look at the loss as much as maybe we do as coaches. I think what they do understand everything from now on is borrowed time. They really don't care who they're playing, they just want to go out there and compete." Bean said that he is thankful to be getting a first round bye week so that the Rhinos can recharge but said that they will hit the ground running on Monday to prepare for the postseason. "We are fortunate to get another week to prepare because of the bye and we don't take anything for granted," Bean said. "We've got work to do." TWELVE BRIDGES 48, DEL CAMPO 12 Del Campo 6 0 6 0 - 12 12 Bridges 14 27 0 7 - 48 DC - Bryce Smith 75 run (kick failed) 12B - Braeden Ward 5 run (run failed) 12B - Ward 62 pass from Connor Flaherty (Ward run) 12B - Ward 2 run (Connor Frontiera kick) 12B - Bradley Kirby 17 pass from Flaherty (Frontiera kick) 12B - Isaiah Rodriguez 45 pass from Flaherty (kick failed) 12B - Gavin Rappa 70 run (Frontiera kick) DC - Isaac Craig 3 run (kick failed) 12B - Ward 78 run (Frontiera kick)