SCOTTSBURG
Brownstown Central’s football team ran for a season-best 474 yards and scored on its first seven possessions en route to a convincing 45-14 victory against Scottsburg on Friday night.
The game was Brownstown’s first since 1983 against Scottsburg (3-6), which recently restarted its football program.
The Braves enjoyed a five-game win streak against the Warriors at that time, and didn’t show any mercy 34 years later.
On the game’s second play, quarterback Derek Thompson ran 51 yards to give Brownstown a 7-0 lead with just 50 seconds gone from the game clock.
Thompson and fellow sophomore Hayden Kinsler took over quarterbacking duties for senior Gus Hogan, who was injured last week against Silver Creek.
Thompson, who alternated possessions with Kinsler, engineered touchdowns on each of his four possessions. He gained 66 rushing yards and two TDs on just five carries.
Kinsler, meanwhile, steered Brownston to two touchdowns and a 25-yard Ethan Sevakis field goal in his five possessions. He ran for 74 yards and a score on 14 carries.
“They’re different kinds of quarterback,” Brownstown head coach Reed May said. “It’s a good thing we’ve got two options and it was good to get a chance to see them play. Kinsler has been a quarterback throughout his time in our program, while Thompson is a very athletic kid. I’ve been telling them that they’re not sophomores anymore, they’re juniors now.”
Brownstown’s running game and defense made life easy for Kinsler and Thompson. Caleb Bollinger and Colton Ritz each posted 100-yard games for the Braves, while Braden Neal was a monster on the defensive side of the ball.
Bollinger ran for a touchdown and a team-high 107 yards on seven carries, while Ritz ended with 100 yards on seven attempts.
Also powering the run game was fullback Matthew Bell, who bulled his way to two TDs and 66 yards on nine rushes.
Defensively, Neal led the Braves with a game-high 10 tackles, two quarterback sacks and an interception.
In all, the Braves finished with four sacks and three tackles for loss. Joining Neal in the Warriors’ backfield was Bollinger (who had three TFLs) and the tag-team of Lendon Underwood and Stuart Hayden, who combined on two QB sacks.
With Friday’s win, Brownstown finished the regular season with an 8-1 record.
In 21 seasons since Indiana expanded its high school football regular season from eight games to nine, the Braves have won eight or more games in a season 14 times, including eight perfect 9-0 records.
“I’m very happy for our players,” May said of his team’s eight-win regular season. “We lost a pretty good group of seniors last year. To be 8-1 and second in the conference is a compliment to our players.”
Still, with the sectional starting next week — Brownstown opens the postseason with a trip to Lawrenceburg (8-1) — May couldn’t help shifting his focus.
“The regular season is important,” May said. “But the older I get, the sectional seems to get more important.”