MADISON — Brownstown Central’s football team exploded for 42 first-half points and claimed a 56-6 road victory over Madison on Friday night.

Call it restorative or a rebound. Call it bouncing back or righting the ship.

However you describe it, getting a win felt good for a Brownstown squad recovering from a difficult loss to county rival Seymour.

“To come down here and get a win is rewarding,” Brownstown head coach Reed May said. “The JVs got to play. We stayed healthy. Our kids responded and had a great week.”

The Braves (6-1) dominated both sides of the ball against the Cubs (1-6). Offensively, BC scored on all five of its first-half possessions. Running 30 plays, the Braves gained 315 yards and 16 first downs to go along with 35 offense-generated points during the first two quarters.

The defense, meanwhile, forced the Cubs backward on their first five rush attempts. In fact, Madison abandoned the run game altogether and threw the ball 27 times during the remainder of the game.

BC junior Greg Hutcheson intercepted one of those passes and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown that nudged the Braves ahead 42-0 with 5 minutes left in the second quarter.

With a lead greater that 34 points, the Braves enjoyed their fourth mercy-rule running clock of the season.

In all, Friday’s win provided the kind of bounce-back Brownstown needed a week after suffering a 41-20 defeat, its worst loss to Seymour in 16 years.

Seymour had been allowing 34 points per game but limited BC’s potent offense its lowest output of the season and half of the 41 points per game it had been averaging.

“We have a 24-hour rule,” May said of his team’s reaction to the loss. “We watched film, which we weren’t very happy about, on Saturday. Seymour played great. We didn’t. It was tough, but that’s why we play (Seymour), for the competition. So you digest the loss on Saturday and then move on. Luckily, we had a game we could recuperate on. “

The offense looked like itself against Madison. Lane Zike got the Braves started with a 6-yard touchdown run on the first possession. Preston Garrison followed with a 30-yard TD run along the right sideline to give BC a quick 14-0 lead.

A week after struggling against Seymour, Brownstown quarterback Micah Sheffer came out firing on Friday night. The sophomore connected on his first four passes, all to Hudson Fritz, for 97 yards.

“It felt great to get some completions and get some confidence,” Fritz said of his busy first half.

The third Sheffer-to-Fritz pass resulted in a 34-yard touchdown strike. Sheffer’s fourth completion went for 41 yards down the left sideline and set up a q-yard TD run by Evan Stahl.

“We wanted to throw some tonight to get (Micah) some confidence and our receivers some confidence,” May said. “We had some passes last week against Seymour that were open, and we couldn’t complete them. If you complete them, who knows what happens. That’s part of it, so we need to get better at throwing the ball.”

Zike added his second score of the game with a 14-yard run before Hutcheson highlighted the defense’s first-half effort with his interception return.

Brownstown’s JV scored twice in the second half. Trey Sweany authored the game’s longest play when he broke through Madison’s defense for a 60-yard run down the right side. Landon Ault capped BC’s scoring with a 16-yard fourth-quarter TD run.

The Braves’ defense ended the game with eight tackles for loss totaling 22 yards. Isiaah Engle had three of those tackles with Isaac Hutchinson ending with two.

BC limited Madison to negative-10 yards rushing on six first-half runs. When the Cubs turned to the passing game, the defensive backfield responded with four pass breakups. Garrison had two PBUs, while Engle and Jack Pace added one each.

“Defense played well,” May said. “We got a shutout in the first half. I told the kids before the game, ‘Your goal is a shutout,’ and we achieved that goal.”

Friday’s win restarted the countdown to May’s 300th victory as BC’s head coach. He stands at 297 wins (against 63 losses) after the Braves defeated the Cubs.

Brownstown is now 3-0 all-time vs. Madison, the other victories coming in 1977 and in a memorable 49-35 win in 2021.

The Braves now turn their attention back to clinching a 24th Mid-Southern Conference title. Sitting on a perfect 5-0 MSC record, they take on Silver Creek (4-2, 3-1 MSC) at home next Friday and then close the regular season with a road trip to Scottsburg (3-3, 2-3 MSC).

“The next few weeks are very important,” Fritz said. “We’re trying to get better for sectional. Our sectional is pretty tough. We’re confident as a team. We’re feeling good after these first seven weeks.”

As his team looks to make the Seymour loss a distant memory, May said the next three weeks offer all the motivation necessary.

“We’ve got a lot ahead of us,” May said. “The first goal is a winning season, which we achieved tonight. The next goal is the conference. We have two games coming up where we want to take care of business. And you want to get better for the tournament.”

Braves;56

Cubs;6

Brownstown Central (6-1);21;21;0;14;—;56

Charlestown (1-6);0;0;6;0;—;6

First quarter

BC-Lane Zike 6 run (Bryce Peak kick), 9:17

BC-Preston Garrison 30 run (Peak kick), 5:40

BC-Hudson Fritz 34 pass from Micah Sheffer (Peak kick), 3:10

Second quarter

BC-Evan Stahl 1 run (Peak kick), 11:25

BC-Zike 14 run (Peak kick), 6:41

BC-Greg Hutcheson 37 interception return (Peak kick), 5:42

Third quarter

M-Cameron Wall 5 run (kick failed), 7:10

Fourth quarter

BC-Trey Sweany 60 run (Peak kick), 11:45

BC-Landon Ault 16 run (Peak kick), 2:55

INDIVIDUAL BC STATISTICS

Rushing: Zike 6-74, Sweany 3-67, Stahl 7-53, Garrison 4-48, Isiaah Engle 5-34, Hunter Toppe 3-24, Ault 1-16, Trevor Branaman 1-15, Hutcheson 1-4, Grayson Vague 1-3, Isaac Hampton 1-2, Brock Dean 3-(-7), Totals 36-333.

Passing: Sheffer 4 for 5, 97 yards, 1 touchdown.

Receiving: Fritz 4-97.