By Al Camp
Chronicle staff

     BREWSTER — The high school football team’s defense came up big Oct. 29, while the offense finally found its rhythm in a 33-7 homecoming victory over Lake Roosevelt.
     Both teams entered the fray without a win this year.
     Brewster had scored its lone touchdown in the first game of the season and given up 305 points. Lake Roosevelt had found a way to score 25 points but gave up 357 points.
     The victory was the first for Brewster since eliminating Colfax 27-12 from the playoffs on Nov. 2, 2007. Since then the Bears had lost 16 straight games, starting with a 44-0 blanking by Connell a week after the win over Colfax.
     “The boys were pretty excited,” Coach Ed Ashworth said. “It’s been two full seasons without a win, almost two full seasons.”
     Lake Roosevelt finds itself in a similar place as Brewster, with a nine-game losing streak. The Raiders have not won a game since a 33-6 victory last year over Brewster on Oct. 30. The Raiders lost a crossover game with Newport 47-0 the following week.
     Ashworth said when the Bears got a safety, it was the most excitement they’ve felt in a long time.
     “We put points up on the board; I was absolutely happy as a clam,” Ashworth said of his 16-player team.
     “Our defense has been playing well all year, regardless of the score and our record,” the coach said. “We gave up points because we have been dead tired. If we were a little deeper, with a little more football-player type guys, we’d have a better season.”
     Lake Roosevelt scored first, taking advantage of a fumbled kickoff at the start of the game that was recovered at the Bears’ 16. Quarterback Tyler Barnhart (8-2)) ran from two yards out.
     After the Raiders were dumped by a sack at the six, the Bears’ Bernardo Martinez ran down Raider quarterback Tyler Barnhart for a sack in the end zone for two points.
     Cory Squires (15-107) scored on a 17-yard run. A two-point conversion pass was incomplete, leaving the Bears up 8-6.
     The teams went back and forth, with the Bears stopping a drive at the 12 by recovering a fumble, only to throw an interception on the next play.
     Eric Knapp appeared to have intercepted a Raider pass, but it was negated by an interference call that put the Raiders at Brewster's 15.
     On third and seven, Lake Roosevelt threw a lateral to the right side that was low and not caught. Lineman Alex Urias picked up the ball and looked at the bench, where Ashworth yelled out for him to run.
     The 5-9, 190-pound junior hustled down the field 82 yards with a convoy of protective Bears behind him for another score.
     In the second half, Brewster scored on a 12-yard run by Squires, a 30-yard run by Louis Pio (his first ever score; 5-40) and a 15-yard pass from Eli Knapp (6-13-1 89) to his twin brother, Eric Knapp.
     Also for Brewster, Clark Wengel ran six yards on five carries and caught four passes for 59 yards. Devon Hargrove caught a pass for 15 yards.
     For Lake Roosevelt, D.J. LaPlante ran 48 yards on 14 carries and Cody LaPlante ran 14 yards on five carries. Barnhart completed 7 of 18 passes for 60 yards and an interception. Receivers included Cade Egbert 4-52 and Johnny Drywater 1-8.
     "Both teams played very hard and with good sportsmanship," Lake Roosevelt Coach James Caddy said. "It was a fun game to be a part of. Our kids gave it everything they had and just made a couple of mistakes that Brewster took advantage of."
     Brewster closes out its season with a crossover game with Newport at 6 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6, at home.
     Ashworth said his team's first goal this season was to win a game. Now they want to win a second game to ride into next season with a two-game winning streak.