Braham football coach Shawn Kuhnke's message to his team at halftime of Thursday night's Section 7A final was simple.
"Believe," Kuhnke said. "You have to keep believing and never give up."
Kuhnke seemingly struck a chord as Braham, stuck in neutral for much of the first half, found its groove after the break to knock Barnum from the postseason with a 28-20 victory at Public Schools Stadium.
In the season's second Bombers-vs.-Bombers showdown, Braham turned to sophomore quarterback John Larson, who triggered a 22-point second half by throwing for 143 of his 247 yards and three touchdowns. Larson completed passes to six different receivers, displaying rare poise for an underclassman.
"He's been doing that all year for us," an amped-up Kuhnke said after his team collected the championship trophy. "He's progressed so much as a sophomore. He'll keep growing, and that's scary. We're just excited he's on our team."
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Late in the third quarter, and with his team trailing 14-6, Larson capped a seven-play, 83-yard drive -- highlighted by Elijah Overton's 55-yard run -- by hooking up with Sonny Foote on a 1-yard TD to make it 14-12.
Barnum (9-2), which suffered both of its losses against Braham (11-0), was hindered by five turnovers, including four interceptions from Brandon Newman, who otherwise turned in a dynamite performance with 104 yards rushing, 112 passing and two total touchdowns.
Newman found Zac Carlson on a third-down passing play for a 63-yard TD that made it 20-12 entering the fourth quarter. Carlson broke a handful of tackles while racing down the sideline after Newman had kept the play alive in the backfield with his feet.
"We had a chance, and that's all you can ask for," Barnum coach Brian Robertson said.
Larson produced a pair of daggers in the fourth quarter, a 48-yarder to Zach Dahlman on the first play of the period that tied it and a go-ahead 63-yarder to Overton.
"I seen they were in man coverage, so I knew if we could get to the outside we could break one," Larson said.
Barnum was flagged frequently for false-start penalties. Combined with the multitude of turnovers, it was too much to overcome against a quality Braham club that is headed to next week's state tournament.
"Any time you turn the ball over, that's no points for you and a chance for them to score some points," Robertson said. "We just ran out of gas. Credit to Braham, they made the plays at the end."
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Braham 6-0-6-16--28
Barnum 14-0-6-0--20
BR -- Tristan Marthaler 26 pass from John Larson (pass failed)
BA -- Zac Carlson 28 run (run failed)
BA -- Brandon Newman 4 run (Newman run)
BR -- Sonny Foote 1 pass from Larson (pass failed)
BA -- Carlson 63 pass from Newman (pass failed)
BR -- Zach Dahlman 48 pass from Larson (Noah Bone pass from Larson)
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BR -- Elijah Overton 63 pass from Larson (Marthaler pass from Larson)
