Braves defeat Owls in Jackson Bowl

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A senior quarterback led his team to victory during Friday night’s Seymour-Brownstown Central football game, though it may not have been the one you were expecting.

Brownstown QB Gus Hogan, the lesser-known of the game’s two quarterbacks, proved to be the difference in a convincing 31-13 Brownstown Central victory against the host Owls.

Hogan scored three touchdowns and ran for a game-high 138 yards as Brownstown (5-1) ended a two-game losing streak against Seymour (2-4). Brownstown Central is now 6-5 against the Owls since the two schools revived their rivalry in 2007.

“I was very excited taking on the quarterback role,” Hogan said as his teammates celebrated around him. “I have a lot of confidence in myself and in my teammates. After last week (a loss to North Harrison), we had the right mindset. We played smash-mouth football like Brownstown Central does.”

The game’s other senior QB – Seymour’s Alan Perry – started the game with the hot hand, throwing a 69-yard touchdown pass to Max Otte and then running for a 79-yard score in a two-minute span to push Seymour in front, 13-3.

Perry, starting his fourth BC-Seymour battle, threw for a touchdown and 177 yards on eight-for-22 passing. He also ran for a team-high 94 yards and a TD on seven carries.

After Perry’s 79-yard score with 1:04 left in the first quarter, however, the Owls’ offense was stymied by Brownstown’s defense. Seymour gained 168 yards and scored 13 points in the game’s first 11 minutes, then managed just 146 yards and zero points over the remaining 37 minutes.

Brownstown Central allowed Seymour to possess the ball for just five minutes in the second half.

“The rest of the game, we just played assignment football,” BC head coach Reed May said. “To give up two quick touchdowns like we did and still win showed the heart our kids have. We (coaches) know it, but it good for our kids to finally realize it.”

With the defense holding the Owls’ offense in check, the Braves’ offense exploded for 21 third-quarter points to put the game away.

Colton Ritz got Brownstown Central started with a 26-yard touchdown run down the left side three minutes into the second half, giving BC a 17-13 lead.

Hogan then followed with his second and third TDs of the game to seal the Braves’ win.

“Their offensive line controlled the game,” Seymour head coach Mike Kelly said. “In the second half, we couldn’t get our defense off the field. I’m disappointed in ourselves as coaches that we didn’t prepare better.”

Seymour’s defense limited Brownstown Centrals’s rushing attack to 101 yards in the first half. But the Braves rebounded with 207 yards in the second half.

Brownstown Central actually struck first, using its first offensive snap on a pass play. Gus Hogan found a wide-open Karl Pence down the middle for a 41-yard gain.

Eight plays later, after being stopped on the Seymour 4 yard line, Brownstown Central kicker Ethan Sevakis booted a 21-yard field goal that gave the Braves an early 3-0 lead.

“After the North Harrison loss, I asked our kids where they wanted to go from here,” May said. “All of our goals are still available to us. Tonight, we achieved two of them, we guaranteed a winning season and we won the county.”

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