By John Regruth | For the Tribune
SEYMOUR
A dominant rushing attack lifted Brownstown Central’s football team to a closer-than-expected 34-28 victory over Seymour in front of a packed Bulleit Stadium on Friday night.
The Braves thoroughly controlled the game and held a comfortable 34-14 lead until a late fourth-quarter surge by a determined Seymour squad forced Brownstown to secure a last-gasp squib kickoff to nail down the win.
Brownstown finished with a Jackson Bowl-record 453 rushing yards and controlled the ball for more that two-thirds of the game’s 48 minutes.
“The offensive and defensive lines always win games and they stood up to the challenge,” Brownstown head coach Reed May said. “We really hadn’t played real well all year and I told them Seymour was going to be the best offensive and defensive line they were going to see all year and they stepped up. They allowed us to control the ball most of the game running the ball. I think we got a little tired there at the end of the game.”
The Braves’ ground game was powered by a record-setting performance from senior quarterback Derek Thompson.
Thompson ran for four touchdowns and 305 yards on 33 carries. His yardage total surpassed last year’s Jackson Bowl single-game mark of 261 yards set by Seymour’s Nathan O’Mara.
Thompson’s 305 yards also set Brownstown’s single-game record, breaking Brent Burcham’s 271 yard mark set in 2004.
“We knew he was going to be our MVP and we knew that he could do all that,” May said. “We can diversify what we do but Derek ran the ball real well tonight.”
Beside records, Thompson also set the tone for Brownstown in the first half, mixing long, clock-eating drives with quick-strike big plays that left Seymour’s defense befuddled.
“All season we’ve been trying to fix our mental mistakes and our penalties,” Thompson said. “Tonight, we put together three and a half quarters of perfect football and that ended up being what we needed.”
Thompson helped BC strike first when he broke through Seymour’s line for a 63-yard run in the first quarter.
Thompson later added a one-yard run to cap an 11-play 73-yard drive that pushed the Braves in front 14-7 just before halftime.
Keeping Seymour in the game was a quick strike of its own when junior running back Chandler Drummond race 94 yards for the Owls’ only first-half score.
At first, Drummond’s run didn’t appear promising when he took the handoff from quarterback Brendan Smith. Drummond drifted left into a swarm of Seymour blockers and BC defenders, kept pressing and finally found room along the left sideline.
Drummond outran three BC defenders, including a last gasp effort at the six yard line, before finding the endzone.
Drummond’s run was the lone highlight for the Owls over the game’s first three quarters. Of Seymour’s first eight possessions, seven ended in punts. Of those seven series, none travelled more than 25 yards or lasted greater than six plays.
When Brownstown opened the second half with consecutive touchdowns — one a 57-yard Thompson run and the second an awe-inspiring push-the-scrum-forward run by Sam Huber — Seymour appeared to be out of luck and without answers.
Then Seymour found answers in the fourth quarter.
The Owls’ passing game, which started with just two completions on their first 18 attempts, came alive when Smith found Drew Vehslage on a pretty pass to the left side of the end zone.
Despite excellent defense by BC’s Eli Brown, Vehslage secured the ball for a 36-yard TD reception, closing BC’s lead to 28-14.
With Seymour’s spirit rising, Thompson delivered another blow to the Owls’ hopes when he responded to Vehslage’s TD catch with a 73-yard touchdown run that pushed the Braves’ ahead, 34-14.
Despite Thompson’s dagger, Seymour never gave up. The Owls scored two more times in the final 3:50 on a one-yard Smith run and another Smith-to-Vehslage TD pass (this one for 25 yards).
With the score head-scratchingly close at 34-28, Seymour’s attempted squib kickoff was corralled by Kiernan Tiemeyer to secure BC’s victory.