BROWNSTOWN
If they wisely planned ahead the Brownstown Braves brought several extra balls to give away to players as game-ball keepsakes.
Plenty of guys deserved them. Starting with junior fullback Eli Wischmeier who scored two touchdowns, including the first one of the game, and recovered a fumble.
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Then the rest of the backfield chimed in as the Braves slowly, but steadily expanded its lead to defeat visiting Scottsburg, 42-14, in a Mid-Southern Conference contest at Blevins Memorial Stadium Friday night.
It was a crystal clear sky for the last regular-season game of 2020 before Sectional play opens Oct. 23, but that was merely better to see the Braves’ pink footwear.
The dazzling look was worn in empathy with national Breast Cancer Awareness Month and pink balloons were tied to the grandstand. Brownstown, 6-2 overall and 5-2 in league, looked pretty enough in pink for the fans.
Brownstown was able to crunch out the drives and the yards when they needed most after some lulls that included a 0-0 first quarter.
Running back Lucas Hines, whose nickname should probably be “Second Half Hines” ripped off 179 yards from scrimmage on 14 carries and notched one touchdown.
Although the final margin was significant, the game did not feel like a rout, though the Braves’ defense mostly contained the Warriors’ offense. Scottsburg runner Traven Crawford was the exception, rushing for 144 yards and catching a 70-yard pass.
In general, it was a good bounce-back game for the Braves after a 42-14 loss to Silver Creek last week that squashed their chances of gaining a piece of the league crown.
Wischmeier’s 9-yard TD at 5:10 in the second quarter introduced the concept of scoring to the game and Brownstown added another touchdown just over a minute later when Nicholas Robbins dashed 46 yards to the end zone.
Brownstown was driving again at the end of the first half, but the clock was running faster than the Braves, so coach Reed May sent out always-reliable extra-point booter Cooper Wolka for a 31-yard field-goal try. The snap was high and the kick was low, however.
When the game was still in reach for Scottsburg, the Braves defense threw up a stone wall to halt a fourth-down run, stopping Crawford inches shy of a first down in the third quarter. It was not long after that the Braves pushed the lead to 21-0.
Backfield mate and fellow senior Jayden Steinkamp contributed 81 yards rushing on 10 carries with two touchdowns.
Scottsburg came in with a 3-5 record, and some might have thought the Warriors would be a pushover opponent, but their mark was somewhat deceptive since the Warriors had run up some major offensive efforts.
The first quarter and into the second was more of a slugfest, tug-of-war before Brownstown Central gained the upper hand with a stronger run game. Some of Scottsburg’s big guys flexed muscles with 275-pound defensive tackle Jamison Barger clogging the middle of the line early and Andrew Banet, wearing No. 99 at fullback, employing his 250-pound bulk on some short-yardage carries.
Jump-starting the offense was Wischmeier’s bulling his way to a 9-yard touchdown and then Robbins made a slash and cut move for his long touchdown.
That made it 14-0 in the second quarter. Brownstown was racing the clock at the end of the first half and had a first-and-goal from the Warriors’ eight with 34 ticks left to intermission, but ended up with that field-goal attempt.
A penalty pushed the Braves back. A Wolka kick would have given his club a 17-point margin, but the snap to holder Brandon Reynolds was high, and Wolka’s kick was rushed and off-target.
For Brownstown, overall, this win was mostly a solid prelude to next week’s first round of sectional play.