Broadneck Football Bounces Back After Old Mill Bump

In football, Broadneck doesn’t lose against Anne Arundel County Public Schools opposition often. In the occasional event the Bruins suffer a defeat, it has almost always been a single-digit loss.

So, when Old Mill won 35-7 against the Bruins at Severn Run High School on October 16, it felt stunning, even seismic. And that wasn’t on account of the brewing thunderstorm and lightning that ended the game 100 seconds early: Broadneck hadn’t lost like that in the county in 14 years.

Although the Bruins were flummoxed by Old Mill’s two-way smashmouth game, and though the Patriots left them with plenty of food for thought, it only temporarily dropped them one spot in the 4A East Region standings, a place they reclaimed the following week after bouncing back with a 42-35 win over Meade, combined with Old Mill beating short-term region leader Annapolis.

Prior to the Old Mill game, the Bruins were cruising: They invoked a rolling clock three times in four games, topping Arundel 48-12, Annapolis 41-0 and North County 49-13, with a 39-21 win over Glen Burnie sandwiched in between.

Dual-threat QB Nathan Kropkowski has led a balanced offense, throwing for more than 1,600 yards and 20 touchdowns against just four interceptions. He’s also run for more than 200 yards and five touchdowns, as part of a rushing attack that is averaging more than 110 yards a contest. Jack Schein leads the rushers with just better than 300 yards, to go with five scores.

Receiving, Aiden Tupper is over 600 yards and nine touchdowns, while rush-receive dual threat Max Fresty has nine total touchdowns and 500 yards from scrimmage.

Broadneck’s bend-don’t-break defense has largely held up, piling up nearly 250 tackles without any single player logging more than 30.

With two losses on the season, Broadneck still has it all in front of them. Win against Severna Park on October 30, and they’ll earn a first-round bye and have one home game to make it back to the state quarterfinals.