Football was on the back-burner last week for some of the Brownstown Central players while their teammate and friend, Dravin Guthrie, was in the hospital.

Braves coach Reed May said some of his players missed a couple of practices while they went up to Indianapolis to see Guthrie, but by Wednesday, when Guthrie was successfully out of surgery, they were put at ease and shifted their focus back to football.

He was still on the hearts and minds — and helmets — of the Braves’ players, who adorned a No. 9 decal on their helmets last week against Eastern (Pekin).

May said Guthrie is in better spirits but still is frustrated he’s not able to get out of his hospital bed just yet. 

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"Obviously, Dravin is in the back of all of our minds," May said. 

Turning attention to Salem this week, May hopes his players get off to a better start than they did last week against the Musketeers. May said his players didn’t take Eastern as seriously as he wished they would have, allowing them to put together two strong drives to open the game. Eventually, the Braves were able to turn it around and continue their undefeated streak against the Musketeers. 

Playing a winless team and also one they’ve never lost to played into the Braves overlooking the Musketeers. There will be no looking ahead this time, May said.

Salem comes into Friday with a 2-1 record, and while the Braves have won 17 straight against the Lions, they are much of the same team the Braves played against last year.

"To me, on film, they look like a very good team, and I think their kids know they’re a very good football team," May said. "This is a big conference game for us and them, so I think our focus is a lot better this week."

Plenty of starters return to the lineup for the Lions, who are looking to get their first win over Brownstown Central since 2005, while the Braves are still breaking in a lot of new blood.

Chief among those returners is Salem quarterback Brandon Corbin, who is a three-year starter and does a little bit of everything for the Lions. 

Speaking of the Lions’ offense, May said his defense is going to need play assignment-sound football to contain Corbin and the rest of the Lion attack. He says they run the option well and can also throw the ball well, so his defense will need to be ready for everything that comes their way. 

Corbin has been out the last two games but will be back this Friday, Maysaid . He played in the opener against North Harrison, throwing for 83 yards and three touchdowns while also rushing the ball 19 times for 171 yards.

A win would not only keep the Braves unblemished but at the top of the Mid-Southern Conference.

Much like their Jackson County rival, the Seymour Owls are hoping to avoid a slow start this week against Jennings County and keep their undefeated record intact.

The Owls have won four straight against the Panthers, including a 45-17 drubbing last year in Seymour. Coach Mike Kelly likens Jennings County to South Dearborn in the ways they have a big, physical front and will need to be able to push them out of the way if they want to have success.

He says his offensive and defensive fronts have taken it as a personal challenge to go out and out-physical other teams. So far, they’ve met the challenge and have the 11th-ranked rushing offense in terms of yards in Class 5A, according to maxpreps.com. Chandler Drummond’s 280 yards and three touchdowns are also good enough to place him eighth overall in Class 5A. 

"I think it’s crucial for us," Kelly said of his fronts being able to push other teams around. "We’re not going to be the most athletic team out there every night, so it’s very important we make up for that lack of athleticism with our physicality. Our physicality and our toughness are two things we’ve really worked on this offseason." 

Currently, the Owls have the best overall record in the Hoosier Hills Conference, and only Floyd Central has more than one win. They’ve also scored the most points (107) in the conference and surrendered the fewest (54). Jennings County has scored the second-most points among conference teams (91) but have also given up the third-most (102). 

While that points given up number is the best in the conference, Kelly hopes the Owl defense forces more three-and-outs this Friday. While the two touchdown-saving interceptions were good to see, Kelly would rather stymie drives early and give the offense a chance to go score.

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What: Seymour (3-0) at Jennings County (1-2)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Radio: 92.7 Nash Icon

Where: Panther Stadium

Last meeting: Seymour 45-14, Sept. 28

Series past 35 years: Seymour 30-7

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What: Salem (2-1) at Brownstown Central (3-0)

When: 7 p.m. Friday

Radio: 96.3 WJAA

Where: Blevins Memorial Stadium 

Last meeting: Brownstown, 56-15, October 26, 2018, sectional

Series past 35 years: Brownstown 28-14

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Hoosier Hills Conference standings

Team;HHC;All

Seymour;1-0;3-0

Bedford North Lawrence;1-0;1-2

Jeffersonville;1-0;1-2

Floyd Central;0-0;2-1

Columbus East;0-0;1-2

Jennings County;0-1;1-2

New Albany;0-1;1-2

Madison;0-1;0-3

Mid-Southern Conference

Team;MSC;All

Brownstown Central;3-0;3-0

Silver Creek;2-0;3-0

North Harrison;2-1;2-1

Salem;2-1;2-1

Charlestown;1-2;1-2

Clarksville;1-2;1-2

Scottsburg;1-2;1-2

Corydon Central;0-2;1-2

Eastern (Pekin);0-2;0-3

Class 5A Sectional 14

Team;Class;All

Seymour;1-0;3-0

New Palestine;1-0;3-0

Franklin;0-0;3-0

Whiteland;0-1;1-2

Class 3A Sectional 31

Team;Class;All

Brownstown Central;2-0;3-0

Franklin County;1-0;3-0

Greensburg;0-0;2-1

Lawrenceburg;0-0;2-1

Batesville;0-0;1-2

Charlestown;0-1;1-2

Scottsburg;0-2;1-2

Rushville;0-1;0-3

Jackson County leaders

Passing

Player;Comp;Att;Yds;TD;I

Smith (S);16;32;356;3;3

Thompson (BC);10;19;151;2;0

Receiving

Player;C;Yd;Avg;TD

Henderson (S);7;213;30.3;3

Cope (BC);4;94;23.5;0

D. Vehslage (S);3;57;19.0;1

Brown (BC);3;45;15.0;0

Barker (S);3;15;5.0;0

Kruse (S);1;33;33.0;0

Schroer (S);1;22;22.0;0

Wilson (BC);1;9;9.0;0

Lowe (S);1;5;5.0;0

J. Tiemeyer (BC);1;3;3.0;0

K. Tiemeyer (BC);1;0;0.0;0

Rushing

Player;Att;Yds;Avg;TD

Thompson (BC);38;346;9.1;4

Drummond (S);41;280;6.8;3

Smith (S);25;141;5.6;4

Brown (BC);7;89;12.7;0

Walker (BC);15;82;5.5;0

K. Tiemeyer (BC);13;60;4.6;0

Greathouse (BC);2;37;18.5;0

Franklin (BC);6;35;5.8;0

Hines (BC);5;35;7.0;0

Huber (BC);6;33;5.5;0

Scoring

Player;TD;1p;2p;FG;TP

Thompson (BC);6;1;0;0;38

Smith (B);6;0;0;0;36

Drummond (S);4;0;0;0;24

Henderson (S);3;0;1;0;20

Brown (BC);3;0;0;0;18

Walker (BC);3;0;0;0;18

Guevara (S);0;12;0;1;15

Pennington (S);2;0;0;0;12

D. Vehslage (S);2;0;0;0;12

Wolka (BC);1;5;0;0;11

Brewer (BC);1;0;0;0;6

Cope (BC);1;0;0;0;6

Hines (BC);1;0;0;0;6

Huber (BC);1;0;0;0;6

Overshiner (BC);1;0;0;0;6

J. Tiemeyer (BC);0;0;1;0;2

Wilson (BC);0;0;1;0;2

Defense

Player;T;A;TT

Hines (BC);12;19;31

Corwin (S);6;12;18

Walker (BC);9;8;17

Pennington (S);10;6;16

Fontanez (S);4;11;15

Weddell (S);7;7;14

J. Tiemeyer (BC);1;12;13

Huber (BC);6;5;11

Justice (BC);4;4;8

Rotert (S);1;7;8

Wilson (BC);0;8;8

James (S);6;1;7

Neal (S);1;6;7

Ream (BC);1;6;7

Brewer (BC);0;7;7

Brown (BC);3;3;6

Schroer (S);3;3;6

Sipes (S);2;4;6

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