Brownstown Central’s varsity players of the week are, from left, Isaac Hampton, Jaden Disque, Joe Roberts, Preston Garrison, and Drew Shelton

Submitted Photo

Of Indiana’s 313 high school football teams, 17 remain undefeated as the season heads into the sectional semifinal round of the state tournament. Two of those teams will face off on Friday at Brownstown Central’s Blevins Memorial Stadium.

The host Braves (10-0) will take on Paoli (10-0) in a clash of highly ranked teams. Friday’s winner figures to have the inside track to the Class 2A Sectional 40 crown.

Both teams are averaging over 40 points offensively (BC 47.1, Paoli 43.5) and are allowing less than 10 points defensively (BC 7.0, Paoli 8.9). Each features a hyper-productive running attack (BC 298.1 yards/game, 53 touchdowns; Paoli 363.2 yards/game and 53 TDs) and each cruised to a first-round sectional victory.

Last week, Brownstown dominated the last three quarters in a 50-8 defeat of Switzerland County while Paoli buried Eastern (Pekin) in the first half of a 42-0 win.

“It should be a great game,” Brownstown head coach Reed May said. “They’ve got 20 returning starters from last year’s team. The last couple of years they got beat in the sectionals, so they’re hungry. They’ve got a great team coming in. We’ve had some great matchups against them.”

Brownstown and Paoli share a long history. The Rams were the fourth team the Braves played in their inaugural 1965 season. They’ve met five times in the postseason and 47 times overall with BC holding a 33-14 advantage in the series (18-3 during May’s 32 seasons). They last met in the opening game of the 2016 season (a 42-14 BC win).

Paoli is led by fifth-year head coach Neil Dittmer, a Jasper graduate who played linebacker and offensive line for the Wildcats’ regional-winning 2005 squad. He served as an assistant at Paoli for nine seasons before taking the head job. His Paoli teams are 41-13 since he took over, including an impressive 20-2 in the last two seasons.

Dittmer ascribed the Rams’ recent success to the team’s 13 seniors who were pressed into service as sophomores and have grown into their roles.

“They kind of got thrust into starting jobs their sophomore year with a bunch of injuries that we had,” Dittmer said. “They have a lot of experience at the high school level, which you can’t underestimate. And we roll out about 10 to 11 juniors that play quite a bit as well. It’s a big deal whenever you’re playing with juniors and seniors.”

Paoli’s offensive line is composed entirely of seniors and averages 6-feet, 215 pounds. Fronting the Rams’ offense are left tackle Coy Busick (5-11, 190 pounds), left guard Ian Drake (5-10, 210), center Peyton Baker (6-0, 230), right guard Oscar Lewellyn (5-11, 230) and right tackle Jaxson Reynolds (6-1, 210).

“They know our scheme so well,” Dittmer said of his linemen. “They’re really good with understanding angles and how they need to attack. They’ve got some strength. This is one of the bigger lines that we’ve had so it’s a bigger, stronger line, but still athletic.”

Thanks to that offensive line, three different Paoli backs have rushed for more than 700 yards in what Dittmer called a “flex-bone option-based offense.”

Senior quarterback Fletcher Cole (6-0, 175) has run the ball 117 times for 865 yards and 14 touchdowns. Junior fullback Tyler Hannon (5-8, 155) leads the team with 129 carries, 922 yards and 15 TDs, while junior slotback Dane Padgett (6-3, 190) has chipped in 735 yards and nine TDs on 62 carries.

“We’re a run-first, run-second, run-third team,” Dittmer said. “We have the ability to have two to three ball carriers carry the ball at any one time on a play. That makes us a tough challenge. We’ve been good at spreading the ball around.”

May said Paoli’s offense will test his team’s defense.

“They’re kind of like us in the sense that they run an offense that nobody sees,” May said. “It’s something that you’ve got to be very disciplined to play. Somebody’s got to have the dive, the quarterback, the pitch. And your (defensive backs) have to be awake for the play-action. You’ve got to prepare for it. I think that gives them an advantage a lot of times against other teams.”

Brownstown’s defense has been a run-stopping force throughout the season. Led by a defensive line consisting of juniors Joe Roberts (6-2, 255), Isaac Hutchinson (6-5, 285), Caden Wischmeier (5-11, 200) and senior Cameron Markel (6-0, 200), the Braves have allowed just 389 rushing yards on 290 attempts in 10 games this season.

Against the best-running team they’ve face this season (North Harrison), BC limited the Cougars to 150 yards on 47 attempts, well under their 270-yard season average.

Brownstown’s defense took a hit last week against Switzerland County when linebackers Evan Stahl and Trevor Branaman departed with injuries. Stahl is out for the season with a left leg injury, while Branaman is expected to miss Friday’s game with a right ankle injury.

May said Jack Pace, out last week with an ankle injury, is expected to return this week to bolster both the linebacking corps and to fill in at the fullback position. Senior Gregory Hutcheson is also expected to see action as a linebacker.

Offensively, the Braves will throw their productive running attack at Paoli’s solid 3-4 defense. Hutcheson leads BC with 1,124 yards and 19 touchdowns on 106 carries (10.6 average). Junior Preston Garrison, who sealed last week’s win on the defensive side of the ball with a 40-yard interception return, is the second running option with 333 yards and five TDs on 41 attempts (8.1 average).

The last two weeks, Brownstown’s rushers have been held to 207 yards per game, about 100 yards under their season average. That has created opportunity for junior quarterback Micah Sheffer, who responded with 181 yards and three touchdowns on 9-for-17 passing.

A deep dive into the two teams’ schedules leans generally in Brownstown’s favor. The Braves have played more games against bigger schools (seven vs. two for Paoli) and against teams with better records (BC’s opponents are 45-53, while Paoli’s are 35-65).

However, according to the latest Sagarin Ratings, Paoli’s best wins are slightly more impressive. The Rams’ top wins came against Class 1A Springs Valley (rated 113th by Sagarin) and Class 4A Boonville (134th). Brownstown’s top wins came against Class 3A opponents Scottsburg (137th) and Madison (139th).

Not surprisingly for two 10-0 teams, the state’s polls view Brownstown and Paoli positively. In the final human-based polls of the season, Brownstown was ranked No. 2 behind Lafayette Central Catholic in the USA Today and AP polls. The Braves ended as the No. 3 team in the coaches’ poll behind LCC and Indianapolis Lutheran.

Paoli, unranked early in the season, is No. 5 in the USA Today and AP polls, and No. 6 in the coaches’ poll.

In the updated Sagarin Ratings, Brownstown jumped a spot to No. 2 among Class 2A teams, while Paoli sits at No. 17. In the overall Sagarin Ratings, regardless of class, Brownstown is rated 41st (up from 57th last week) while Paoli is 136th.

“I’ve had a few game experiences against Brownstown, and it’s always a challenge,” Dittmer said. “They’re exceptionally well coached, and they do what they do extremely well in all three phases of the game. I think it’s going to be physical. I think it’s going to be a game that’s going to come down to who’s able to possess the ball, and keep possession of it offensively, and keep drives going. And then I think it’s going to come down to being able to limit turnovers. Whoever doesn’t turn the ball over is going to have the best shot at winning.”

Players of the Week

Offensive Back: Isaac Hampton

Offensive Line: Jaden Disque

Defensive Line/MLB: Joe Roberts

Defensive Back/Dime: Preston Garrison

Special Teams: Drew Shelton