Senior Sebastian Brudnicki and the Mid Valley football team were tired of losing to Dunmore. So they did something about it.
Brudnicki carried 11 times for 125 yards, two touchdowns and two two-point conversion runs to help the Spartans pull off a 30-17 upset of the Bucks. It ended a 14-game losing streak to Dunmore for Mid Valley dating to 2005. Also, the Bucks had their 50-game winning streak against District 2 Class 2A opponents halted.
Here is more from Brudnicki’s Athlete of the Week interview:
Family: Father, David; mother, Karen; sisters, Jessie, Sarah, Autumn
Sebastian Brudnicki, Mid Valley football, Athlete of the Week for Monday, Sept. 2, 2019.
Christopher Dolan / Staff Photographer
Other sports I play: Track & field
Favorite teams: Pittsburgh Steelers
Athletes I admire: Jack Lambert. He was just an old-school linebacker. I loved his style of play.
Favorite food: Steak
Three people I’d like to have dinner with: Ben Roethlisberger, Jimmy Page, Ronald Reagan
In the opening week, the team lost to Wyoming Area, 56-13. How did you guys regroup from that in the week leading up to the Dunmore game? We got awakened. We weren’t playing right. We got challenged and called out. That game, our play was just terrible the whole game. We just wanted to come back the next week and get redemption. That wasn’t us.
First play of the game against Dunmore, the team hit a 78-yard pass play for a touchdown. How did that set the tone? We wanted to come out strong and make a statement first play of the game. That we were here to play. Our attitude was to keep going and not quit. Just because we were up didn’t mean anything.
In the third quarter, Dunmore closed to within 14-10. But you scored on a 60-yard run, then added the two-point conversion. Describe the play. I took a direct snap. Before the play, coach Fanucci told me, ‘You’re scoring this play. Get the ball, run up the sideline and score a touchdown.’ I was like, ‘Yes sir, I got it.’ Everybody did their job and it worked out in our favor.
Then in the fourth quarter, Dunmore make it 22-17. But the team went on an 80-yard scoring drive, capped by your 39-yard touchdown run. I saw an opening, took it and just ran past everybody. I saw them pursuing, but they didn’t get to me.
What was the attitude in the huddle during that drive? We weren’t going to stop our momentum. There still was football to play, we had to keep playing. We knew it could go the other way in a matter of seconds. They are a good team. We weren’t going to do anything that would make us fall behind.
Post-graduation plans: I want to try to go to college. I’m really good at math, so I was thinking about maybe (studying) some type of engineering. I’ve been thinking about it a lot, but I haven’t decided exactly what I want to do. If I get the opportunity to play football or run track in college, I’ll take it.
During more than 30 years at The Times-Tribune, Scott has covered everything from high schools to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton Penguins. His current beats include motor sports, local colleges, high school cross country and high school baseball. He also is a copy editor and page designer. His articles have won awards from the Associated Press Sports Editors, American Auto Racing Writers and Broadcasters Association, Eastern Motorsports Press Association, the Society of Professional Journalists Keystone Pro Chapter and the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Keystone Press. He also has been honored by the Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League and the Minor League Football Alliance. In 2016, he was presented the Media Service Award by the Northeastern Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame. A Long Island, New York, native, Scott graduated from the University of Scranton in 1986 with a bachelor’s degree in communications. He lives in Peckville with his wife, Andrea, and daughters, Bridget and Emily. Contact him at swalsh@timesshamrock.com; 570-348-9100, x5109; or @swalshTT on Twitter
