Cardinal Gibbons’ Brock Biestek scores 4 TDs to lead Crusaders over Heritage in playoffs
Once Brock Biestek got going, he didn’t stop.
The Cardinal Gibbons junior wide receiver had his best game of the season when it counted most, racking up four total touchdowns in the Crusaders’ 42-0 shellacking of Heritage in the second round of the 4A playoffs.
Biestek, a 6-2, 190-pound Swiss Army knife, scored from all over in this Friday night matchup: on a corner route, up the gut on a Wildcat direct snap, down the middle of the field on two well-executed tunnel screens of 63 and 41 yards. All that came in the first half.
“It felt pretty good, but I’m just looking forward to next week,” said Biestek, who was quick to credit his blockers. “I’m just trying to keep going in the playoffs. I don’t try to look at touchdowns and stuff.”
Cardinal Gibbons, the No. 4 seed in the 4A East bracket, had a bye last week. At their home stadium, the Crusaders wasted no time getting down to business — literally. On their second play from scrimmage, senior running back Jack Grazen ripped off a 65-yard touchdown run.
The Crusaders supplemented an increasingly explosive offense, led by quarterback Andrew Harvey, with a formidable defense. On the majority of his first-half drives, Heritage quarterback Walker Harris was uncomfortable: opting for dump-offs, throwing off his back foot and taking hits.
“A big goal of our defense was to limit them,” Cardinal Gibbons coach Steven Wright said. “We knew they were explosive. They’ve got a really talented group.”
The Huskies had a golden opportunity, midway through the second quarter, when Harvey made a rare mistake and threw an interception on his side of the field. But Heritage stalled and opted for a 38-yard field goal, which Ben Steele missed wide left.
Up 21-0 at this point, Cardinal Gibbons added two more touchdowns before half. The latter, especially, was a momentum killer.
After a great Heritage punt pinned the team at its own 1-yard line, Harvey found receiver Cameron Noble for 54 yards down the left sideline. Then Biestek caught a screen pass, broke a few tackles and ran in for the Crusaders’ fifth touchdown of the half.
“Putting up the points that we did and being able to shut them out was that maybe even surprised us a little bit,” Wright said. “But thrilled with the way our defense played, certainly.”
Early in third quarter, Grazen burst up the middle for a 58-yard touchdown. That gave Cardinal Gibbons a 42-0 lead and initiated a running clock against a team seeded just one spot below it.
By the fourth, Cardinal Gibbons had inserted plenty of backups, including at quarterback, and drained the last 12 minutes with a conservative ground game.
The Crusaders are headed east next week to face off against New Bern, the No. 1 seed in the 4A East bracket. The mentality, Wright said, is the same as it’s been all season: go 1-0 each week.
“They’re a good team,” Biestek said. “We’ve got to bring it.”
Three who mattered
Jack Grazen, Cardinal Gibbons: The senior, who leads the Crusaders in rushing, set the tone early and scored twice on long runs.
Brock Biestek, Cardinal Gibbons: He scored four of his team’s six touchdowns and displayed a nice combination of power and speed on each of his scores.
Whit Kane, Heritage: In his final game as a Husky, Kane rarely left the field and showed tangible, consistent effort. He played running back, wide receiver and defensive back and also returned kicks.
Worth noting
Heritage stacked the box against Cardinal Gibbons, often bringing nine defenders in, to try to slow down Grazen. This opened up the deep passing game — most notably, on back-shoulder throws to the Crusaders’ outside receivers.
Steele, also Heritage’s kicker, had a few nice punts for the Huskies. He consistently put Cardinal Gibbons in tough field position; ultimately, of course, that didn’t matter.
Cardinal Gibbons senior defensive back Davis McCain picked off Harris in the fourth quarter. For all the Crusaders’ excellent defense, that was the one turnover they forced. Wright complimented McCain on it in the postgame huddle.
Scoring summary
CG — Jack Grazen 65-yard rush (Noah Lawrence kick)
CG — Andrew Harvey 22-yard pass to Brock Biestek (Lawrence kick)
CG — Harvey 63-yard pass to Biestek (Lawrence kick)
CG — Biestek 17-yard rush (Lawrence kick)
CG — Harvey 41-yard pass to Biestek (Lawrence kick)
CG — Grazen 58-yard rush (Lawrence kick)
This story was originally published November 22, 2019 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Cardinal Gibbons’ Brock Biestek scores 4 TDs to lead Crusaders over Heritage in playoffs."