For The Tribune
CHARLESTOWN
Brownstown Central’s football team continued its strong start Friday night, scoring 36 first-half points and easing to a 43-14 victory against Charlestown.
The Braves (2-0) used their patented explosiveness to bury a beleaguered Pirates defense that has yielded 77 points in two games.
Brownstown’s first four touchdowns came on plays of 27 or more yards. On the game’s fifth snap, Gus Hogan connected with fellow senior Karl Pence on a 54-yard pass play to start the Streak Parade.
Reece Covert quickly followed with a 58-yard fumble return on the defensive side of the ball and a 27-yard TD run on the offensive side.
When Colton Ritz broke through for a 59-yard scoring run with 7:08 left in the second quarter, the Braves had a 28-0 lead.
“Last night in practice, I told our guys, at times, you look pretty good,” Brownstown head coach Reed May said. “Gus (Hogan) threw the ball really well tonight. And we’ve got a lot of guys running the ball well right now.”
Hogan and the Braves passing game took a step forward against Charlestown (0-2). The senior threw for 138 yards on 5-for-7 passing.
Hogan’s favorite target was Pence, who finished with three receptions for 112 yards. Hogan also threw a clutch 26-yard pass to Caleb Bollinger along the left sideline that converted a third-and-20 into a first down.
“Three or four plays into the game, (Charlestown) was concentrated up on the line, so we thought we could throw it downfield on them,” May said. “(Pence) had a big night.”
Along with Pence, another pleasant-surprise senior — Covert — enjoyed a special night. Playing in his first season of football (except for a season of flag football in the second grade), Covert ended the night with a fumble return for a touchdown, a rushing touchdown and an interception.
“I didn’t expect this,” Covert said of his productive effort. “(Charlestown) is a good team, but when we started getting fumbles and returns for touchdowns, I thought, ‘This could be a great game.’”
May said late-blooming players hold a special place in a coach’s heart.
“A lot of guys go through our program and you hope they will be good by their senior year,” May said. “When it happens, those are the guys you feel good about.”
Brownstown’s offense finished with 463 yards of total offense. Ritz led a cadre of Brave runners with 160 yards on just nine carries.
In the young season’s opening two contests, Brownstown has scored 87 points, or a 43.5-point average. For perspective, last year’s high-powered offense averaged 47.1 points.
For the second straight week, the Braves’ defense also excelled. Besides Covert’s exploits, Brownstown got a fumble recovery by Seth Borden and quarterback sacks by Lendon Underwood, Andy Kellermeier and Noah Reynolds.
Luke Shelton led the Braves with seven tackles, including two for loss. Underwood and Matthew Bell also added tackles for loss.
“So far, we’re flying around to the ball pretty well,” May said.