BROWNSTOWN

Brownstown Central’s football team never gave visiting North Harrison a chance on Friday night. The Braves scored on their first seven possessions and dominated the Cougars defensively during a 47-0 victory.

The Braves finished with season bests in total offense (453 yards), rushing yards (367) and passing yards (86). Perhaps most welcome was the return of a consistent big-play offense, with BC generating 10 plays of 20 or more yards.

“We played a lot more consistent than we had in earlier games,” BC coach Reed May said. “We really challenged our slots to step up. We have four slot backs that can play and we need them to contribute so that defenses can’t key on (quarterback) Derek (Thompson).”

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Brownstown’s slot backs responded to the challenge. Eli Brown started the string of explosive plays when he broke free for a 44-yard run on the Braves’ second offensive snap.

Another BC slot, sophomore Kiernan Tiemeyer, also responded with his best performance of the season. Tiemeyer finished with 72 rushing yards, 68 receiving yards and a touchdown.

And, yes, Thompson also contributed, running for a team-high 111 yards and having his best aerial game of the season with 86 yards and two TDs on perfect 4-for-4 passing.

A 38-yard Thompson-to-Tiemeyer pass play gave the Braves an early 6-0 lead. Thompson then ran 12 yards for a score and added a two-point conversion to push BC in front 14-0.

In the second quarter, Thompson connected with senior Jake Cope on a 23-yard TD reception, followed by a Jayden Steinkamp touchdown that gave Brownstown a 27-0 advantage at halftime.

A 17-yard Thompson run, a 35-yard Lucas Hines run and a one-yard Steinkamp run in the third quarter swelled the lead to 47-0.

The defense, meanwhile, recorded its first shutout of the season and its second consecutive shutout of North Harrison (2-3) by limiting the Cougars to 100 total yards on 34 plays.

The Braves’ defensive effort was highlight by quarterback sacks by Sam Huber, Treyton Ream and Hunter Nolan.

“Defensively, I thought we played our assignments well,” May said. “We did our reads well and did what we needed to do.”

Friday’s game took on a somber tone when play was halted with 2:57 left in the first quarter after North Harrison running back Nick Gunter was injured on a one-yard carry at midfield. Gunter was removed from the field on a stretcher and was transported by Jackson County EMS to Schneck Medical Center in Seymour for a possible neck injury.

Following Friday’s game, thoughts turned to next week’s intra-county contest between Brownstown and Seymour.

This year’s Jackson County showdown will feature, in terms of team wins, the strongest matchup since the two schools resumed their rivalry in 2007.

Brownstown, with Friday’s win, improved to 5-0 while Seymour will carry a 4-1 record into next week’s game. The combined nine wins is the most ever in a county rivalry game.

The previous highest combined win total was last year’s eight when the 5-0 Braves met the 3-2 Owls. The Owls won last year’s matchup, 44-34.

“It’s going to be a great game,” May said. “We’ll see what happens. They’ll have a great plan and a great attack. We’ll just line up and play.”

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Braves;47

Cougars;0

North Harrison (2-3);0;0;0;0;—;0

Brownstown Central (5-0);14;13;20;0;—;47

First quarter

BC-Kiernan Tiemeyer 38 pass from Derek Thompson (kick failed), 4:35

BC-Thompson 12 run (Thompson run), :06

Second quarter

BC-Jake Cope 23 pass from Thompson (kick failed), 7:38

BC-Jayden Steinkamp 6 run (Cooper Wolka kick), 1:24

Third quarter

BC-Thompson 17 run (run failed), 9:17

BC-Lucas Hines 35 run (Wolka kick), 6:00

BC-Steinkamp 1 run (Wolka kick), 2:30

INDIVIDUAL BC STATISTICS

Rushing: Brownstown Central-Thompson 5-111, Tiemeyer 4-72, Eli Brown 2-52, Hines 2-37, Braeden Walker 2-34, Carson Darlage 2-18, Steinkamp 4-17, Reese Henry 3-15, Sam Huber 3-11.

Passing: Brownstown Central-Thompson 4-4-86

Receiving: Brownstown Central-Tiemeyer 2-64, Cope 1-23, Steinkamp 1-(-1).

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