Prep football: Branson runs out of tricks in loss to Fresno Christian

Spencer Weinberg’s juggling catch in the first quarter could have been a great opening act for the Bulls’ aerial show on Saturday afternoon in Ross. Unfortunately for the Branson School’s 8-person football team, the circus folded its tents early during the Bulls’ 56-14 loss to non-league foe Fresno Christian.

Weinberg tipped a 33-yard pass from junior quarterback Colby Buxton to himself, off his helmet and juggled the ball while stumbling toward the end zone. Weinberg barely grasped control of the ball before it hit the turf, but it was enough for the officials to signal for a touchdown and a 6-0 Branson lead.

Long drive to Ross from Fresno and Eagles are still moving. @bransonschool gets on board first thanks to acrobatic catch by Spencer Weinberg. Fresno Christian in control since then, leading 40-14 at half @marinij_sports #MarinFootball pic.twitter.com/pY40zJTKzG

— Derek Wilson (@DerekWinSports) September 13, 2025

“It was a good start, a great call by our coach,” Weinberg said. “We just made too many mistakes today.”

The Bulls have a week off to reset before taking to the road to play South Fork. The Bulls then have another week off — after Kairos Public backed out of an Oct. 4 game — before their North Central League II opener on Oct. 11 against Roseland University Prep.

Branson, which graduated most of its starters from last season, is showing some growing pains during a 1-2 start to the season. Mounting injuries didn’t help Saturday as the Bulls were missing five starters, and struggled to keep pace with the bigger, more powerful Eagles.

“I knew it was going to be a physical game, so we were going without the huddle, with the long counts. That was our plan on offense, hoping we could do a little misdirection and take advantage of that,” Branson first-year head coach Dallas Hartwell said. “We did early on with the odd formation and the backside screen that really set us up there. We had some finesse, but we just couldn’t finesse it for 48 minutes.”

Buxton completed just 9 of 23 passes for 138 yards, with four of those going to Weinberg for 109 yards and two touchdowns. Buxton dashed off 45 yards on eight carries.

The Eagles (4-0) still had plenty of gas in the tank despite the long trek from Fresno, and put up three touchdowns in the first quarter.

The Bulls made the most of a second chance when the Eagles were called for roughing the kicker in the second quarter. The Bulls, whose offense stalled in a three-and-out drive, suddenly found new life. Buxton launched the ball to a streaking Weinberg, who caught the ball near the Fresno Christian 25 and hurried to the end zone for a 50-yard touchdown. Trailing 24-14 after completing the 2-point pass attempt, the Bulls were back in the game it seemed.

The Eagles came right back with a 65-yard scoring drive for a 18-point lead midway through the third quarter.

Luke O’Connell and Nyanza Ngongoseke had been stalwarts on Branson defense throughout the game. And in the third quarter, Buxton stepped up on defense, dropping Eagles quarterback Tycen Ramirez for a 9-yard sack.

But when the Bulls took the ball, the Eagles stymied Buxton, shutting down his passing options.

The Bulls got to within 13 yards of the end zone in the final minute of the third quarter, and three passes in a row fell to the ground. The fourth was cradled in Tyler Soofer’s arms, but short of a first down. Fresno Christian took over with 14.5 seconds on the clock and needed just 11 seconds for powerful running back Alex Asatrian to run 75 yards for a touchdown and a 40-14 lead.

Asatrian ran 14 times for 124 yards and three touchdowns, bulldozing his way through the Branson defense. Ramirez, who also ran 14 times for 124 yards, scored two touchdowns on the ground in the third quarter — one on a 70-yard run during which he through a shoulder at a would-be tackler, knocking him out of the play.

Ramirez racked up the mileage in Ross. He also completed 22 of 28 passes for 244 yards and two touchdowns. He nearly had a third touchdown pass, but Soofer stripped the ball from the Eagles’ Bryce Smith in midair in the end zone for an interception in the second quarter.

“We’re a young team,” Weinberg said. “The upperclassmen are carrying a lot of weight, and they’re trying to help the younger players. It’s going to get better. The goal is to win all the rest of our games To do that, we have to fix some of these problems and get healthy.”

Fresno Christian 56, Branson 14

non-league

Fresno Christian 24 16 16 0 — 56

Branson 6 8 0 0 — 14

SCORING SUMMARY

B — Weinberg 33 pass from Buxton (run fail)

FC — Corrao 6 pass from T. Ramirez (T. Ramirez run)

FC — Smith 11 pass from T. Ramirez (Asatrian pass from T. Ramirez)

FC — Asatrian run (Smith pass from T. Ramirez)

B — Weinberg 50 pass from Buxton (Weinberg pass from Buxton)

FC — Asatrian 1 run (Asatrian run)

FC — Asatrian 75 run (D. Ramirez pass from T. Ramirez)

FC — T. Ramirez 2 run (T. Ramirez run)

FC — T. Ramirez 70 run (D. Ramirez pass to T. Ramirez)

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING — FC, T. Ramirez 14-124, Asatrian 14-124, Belmont 2-4, D. Ramirez 1-6. Totals 31-260. Branson, Buxton 8-45, Weinberg 2-7, Matthews 3-(minus-3), Team 6-15. Totals 19-63.

PASSING — FC, T. Ramirez 22-28-1 244, D. Ramirez 1-1-0 3. Sacks 1-9. Totals 23-29-1 238. Branson, Buxton 9-23-0 138. Sacks 1-3. Totals 9-23-0 135.

RECEIVING — Smith 10-110, Belmont 2-27, D. Ramirez 2-27, Corrao 5-62, T. Ramirez 1-3, Asatrian 3-18. Totals 23-247. Branson, Weinberg 4-109, Soofer 4-26, Mathews 1-3. Totals 9-138.

Records — Fresno Christian 4-0, Branson 1-2.