Fort Branch
To (in)famously quote former Arizona Cardinals head coach Dennis Green, “They were who we thought they were.”
Class 3A No. 1 Gibson Southern looked like the best team in the state in its regional battle against visiting Brownstown Central on Friday.
For about 12 minutes, Brownstown Central was the better team on the field.
The Braves opened the first quarter by executing their game plan — dominating the time of possession and limiting any drives by the Titan’s dynamic offense.
In Gibson Southern’s first two possessions, they only had five plays while picking up two first downs.
You couldn’t have ask for much more from the defensive side of the ball from the Braves in the first quarter.
They looked strong on the line and broke up a pair of passes on the sidelines.
With 7:18 left in the second quarter the Titans’ offense ignited thanks to the play from quarterback Nick Sellers — who sits near the top of multiple statistical leaders across all classes.
Sellers mimics Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers: A big-bodied passer with poise in the pocket, big arm and an ability to extend plays.
Gibson Southern turned back into the team that they’ve been all season — an undefeated squad that has averaged wins by 49 points per game.
Sellers began connecting on deep balls and his receivers picked up chunks of yards on screen passes.
On that 72 yards passing TD to Griffin Scheller, Sellers capped off what was an excellent second quarter with an exclamation point.
Going through his reads, Sellers dropped a pass perfectly into his receiver’s hands from about 30 yards before it was off to the races for the score.
The Titans’ opening drive of the third quarter set the tone for the second half.
A highlight from Gavin Bane on a nice 25-yard TD run broke the monotony for a brief time for the Braves, but the hole was far too deep with 10 minutes left on the clock.
Scheller shook off three Braves defenders to get the ball to the 4-yard line on the third play of the third quarter before Sellers punched it in untouched.
Despite the final margin, the Braves shouldn’t hang their heads now that their season has concluded.
Losing 21 seniors coming into the 2015 season, many felt that the Braves would have a down year.
Instead of listening to the naysayers, the Braves opened the season 4-0 before winning six-straight games and taking a Sectional 31 title at the end of the season.
The Braves (10-3) will miss their senior class of 12 but have a lot to look forward to in 2016.
Jordan Morey is the sports editor for The Tribune. Send comments to [email protected].