Falls Lose in Shutout Against Brookfield East

One word could describe the Brookfield East defense this season — stingy.

The Spartans continued their surprising start with an impressive 21-0 victory Friday night over Menomonee Falls in a Greater Metro Conference game. East improved its record to 4-0 and 2-0 in the conference. Falls dropped to 3-1 for the season and 1-1 in the Greater Metro.

East has given up just one defensive touchdown all season. And, although they had the game well in hand in the fourth quarter, the Spartans weren’t about to give up anything.

"It just feels amazing," East defensive lineman Alec James said. "Stay tuned for Brookfield East. We’re going to do some big things this season."

Falls came into the game averaging 36 points per game. The Indians had little success moving the ball against the Spartans.

"First of all, we didn’t give up any big plays on defense and that’s the key," East Coach Tom Swittel said. "I told them at halftime, if we don’t give up the big play, a 30-yard run or pass, they won’t score. They can’t grind it out against us and that’s what happened."

The East defense helped to set up the first touchdown. Falls quarterback Brett Krause lost two yards on a run, he threw an incomplete pass and was sacked by defensive lineman Jivanni Hutson. A short punt gave the Spartans the ball at the Falls 25.

Brian Smith gained nine yards on pass from quarterback Bryce Pompos and a 12-yard run by Nate Schneider put the ball at the Falls one. Pompos scored on the quarterback sneak and the Spartans held a 7-0 halftime lead.

Falls got good field position to open the second half. Starting from its 42, they moved the ball into East territory and were faced with a fourth down and one.  Falls decided to forgo the punt. That strategy backfired when running Justin Johnson was stuffed for no gain.

Six plays later, running back Zach Schober scored on a three-yard run. Schober made the extra point to take a 14-0 lead.

Hutson made his second big defensive play of the game when he knocked the ball away from running back Matt Christensen, who was setting up the option pass. James recovered the fumble.

Pompos scored his second touchdown of the game on a four-yard run with 9:38 left. The only drama that remained after that was whether Falls could score. The Indians got to inside the East 20 in the final minutes, but were unable to score.

From Falls’ perspective, they will look back at some lost opportunities. The one that hurt the most was when a holding call nullified a touchdown run by Christensen in the second quarter.

"This was a game where you have to make plays happen, and we just didn’t,” Falls coach John Baker said. “We just have to play more consistently.”

The one big highlight for Falls came in the first half when Rajee Vasser blocked a punt for the second time this season.

East finds itself tied with Brookfield Central for first in the Greater Metro. The two will face each other in a Thursday night showdown on Sept. 22. But, next up for the Spartans, is Wauwatosa East — which lost to West Allis Central, 28-21, Friday.

Although the Spartans find themselves on top of the Greater Metro, they’re not prepared to shed the underdog label quite yet.

“This has been one of those years where everyone has bonded together,” Swittel said. “Nobody picked us to do anything in the conference. That’s been our rallying cry. ”