Crofton beats Johnson-Brock 78-51, returns to Class D1 final

No. 5 Crofton beat No. 1 Johnson-Brock 78-51 on Friday at Johnson-Brock in a Class D1 semifinal. Crofton entered 10-1 and is 11-1 after the win. Johnson-Brock entered 11-0. Crofton had beaten Elkhorn Valley 59-6 and won 62-32 at Ravenna. Johnson-Brock had beaten Amherst 69-24 and Exeter-Milligan-Friend 42-8. Crofton also beat Johnson-Brock 88-56 in the second round of the 2025 playoffs. Crofton's only loss this season was 40-24 to Stanton on Sept. 18.

Johnson-Brock scored first. After a 39-yard Wyatt Fulton pass to Quentin Behrends, Ben Parriott scored on a 10-yard run with 11:30 left in the first quarter. The two-point try failed, and the Eagles led 6-0. On Crofton's opening play, Preston Foxhoven hit Tyson Jackson for a 65-yard touchdown pass. The two-point try failed, tying it at 6-6 with 11:19 left.

Jackson then intercepted a Fulton pass after Fulton's arm was hit. Two plays later, Foxhoven scored on a quarterback draw with 9:17 left, and Crofton converted the two-point try to lead 14-6. Foxhoven found Trevor Allen for a 30-yard touchdown, and Jackson converted the two-point try to make it 22-6 with 3:38 left. After Deacon Bernadt hauled in a 33-yard catch, Parriott scored his second rushing touchdown, and Fulton converted the two-point try to cut the lead to 22-14 with 2:29 left. It was 22-14 after one. Jackson's 44-yard option run set Crofton up deep in Johnson-Brock territory at the end of the quarter.

Foxhoven scored on a 5-yard scramble with 11:10 left in the second quarter. The two-point try failed, and Crofton led 28-14. One play after being sacked, Fulton sprinted 40 yards down the sideline for a touchdown, and Johnson-Brock converted the two-point try to make it 28-22 with 8:27 left. Foxhoven answered with a 69-yard scramble with 7:32 left. After several penalties, Crofton's two-point try failed on a Johnson-Brock sack, making it 34-22. Fulton then hit Bernadt for a 15-yard touchdown and converted the two-point try to pull Johnson-Brock within 34-30 with 6:39 left.

Late in the half, Foxhoven hit Jackson for 35 yards on third-and-19, and Jackson powered in from 11 yards. Foxhoven converted the two-point try for a 42-30 lead with 30 seconds left. As the first half expired, Fulton was sacked and fumbled, and Jackson scooped it up and returned it for a touchdown. The conversion was not described. Crofton led 48-30 at halftime.

Jackson entered the game with 1,753 rushing yards and 39 touchdowns. Foxhoven had thrown for 1,163 yards and 17 touchdowns. Foxhoven found Allen again, this time for a 27-yard touchdown, with Allen making the catch over a defender, to make it 54-30 with 10:41 left in the third. The conversion was not described. Jackson then took it in from 10 yards out from under center and scored the two-point conversion himself, putting Crofton ahead 62-30 with 4:58 left. Parriott scored his third rushing touchdown of the night with 50 seconds left in the third, and Fulton converted the two-point try to make it 62-38.

Tyson Jackson, a senior, found the end zone again with 7:10 left in the fourth, pushing the lead to 70-38. Fulton connected with Bernadt on an 11-yard touchdown pass, the pair's second score of the night, for a 70-44 score with 6:02 left. Cash Culliton sprinted through for a Crofton touchdown with 5:08 left, making it 78-44. Fulton scored again with 3:42 left, and Johnson-Brock hit the PAT to make it 78-51, the final.

Foxhoven and Jackson combined for 10 touchdowns. For the first time in program history, Crofton is making a return appearance to Memorial Stadium, a back-to-back trip to the Class D1 title game. Crofton will face Sandy Creek on Monday, Nov. 23, at 2:45 p.m. at Memorial Stadium. Sandy Creek beat previously unbeaten Stanton 52-16 in the other semifinal.

Scoring summary

Sources

Update from @Austin2Jacobsen, @WiredAxcess, @steepintheseats. Season stats from MaxPreps.

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