BROWNSTOWN— In its most complete performance of the season, Brownstown Central’s football team converted a first-half dogfight into a comfortable 42-14 victory over Madison on Friday night.

The Braves (7-0) scored the game’s final 28 points and used all three phases to secure their victory. Offensively, BC complemented its running game with a passing attack that until Friday hadn’t been fully exercised.

Defensively, Brownstown made the right adjustments and shut out Madison’s potent offense over the final 30 minutes of the game. Special teams, meanwhile, generated the game’s most consequential play, an 85-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Gregory Hutcheson, that shifted momentum towards the Braves.

Midway through the second quarter, BC didn’t feel like it was on the cusp of a complete performance. Madison’s difficult-to-tackle athletes and constant variability in formations and motion had Brownstown on its heels.

The Cubs (3-4) scored on consecutive possessions to tie the game at 14 with 6:14 remaining in the first half and seemed on the verge of taking the game over.

“(Madison’s) just a very good team,” Brownstown head coach Reed May said. “I was very impressed with them on film. They’re well coached. They’re the best team we’ve played so far. We didn’t tackle very well in the first half. At halftime, (defensive coordinator) Clay (Brown) talked to the defense, and I think his pep talk got a little fiery. That helped motivate them. The biggest thing I was telling them was, “How good are we?” (Madison) was a challenge tonight. We hit a little adversity in the first half, came back in the second half, and I thought we played well.”

The rebound from that second-quarter lull started when Jack Pace stopped Madison’s bruising running back James Schafer on a two-point conversion to prevent the Cubs from taking the lead.

Tied at 14 and facing a stacked defense designed to stonewall BC’s running attack, the Braves allowed quarterback Micah Sheffer to stretch his arm more than he had in any game so far this season. The junior connected with Easton Branaman and Pace for first downs, then found tight end Lane Pendleton on a dump screen for a 17-yard touchdown reception that gave Brownstown a 21-14 lead heading into halftime.

“Going into the game, we knew they’d have eight guys in the box and they would be blitzing,” Sheffer said. “We figured that we’d have to throw the ball. That’s something that people take us lightly on. I feel like we went out there today and showed everybody that we have the weapon of throwing the ball. Hopefully it’ll help our run game.”

Sheffer threw for 165 yards on 11 for 15 passing. All three of those numbers are season highs. Eight of the 11 completions gained first downs and two went for touchdowns.

“We keyed on the run, we wanted them to throw the football,” Madison head coach Charles Benintende said. “We thought we had them right where we needed to have them. The first play in the second half is what took us out of it.”

That play was Hutcheson’s kickoff return. The senior caught Wyatt Overpeck’s kick at the 15 yard line and then sprinted straight through the middle of Madison’s coverage. Two Cubs appeared to have a shot at wrapping up Hutcheson but he shed both tacklers.

“Coach May always says run up the middle, so I started up the middle,” Hutcheson said. “There was a big hole. I kept going and tried not to let anybody catch me. It felt longer than 85 yards. It felt like I was running for forever.”

Hutcheson’s return is the longest scoring play of the season for the Braves, a couple of yards longer than Preston Garrison’s 83-yard TD reception against Charlestown five weeks ago.

Suddenly ahead by two scores, Brownstown’s defense employed a bend but don’t break strategy, allowing the Cubs to move the ball between the 20s but never letting them into the end zone.

Madison’s 285 total offensive yards and 186 passing yards were the most given up by the Braves this season. But the Cubs had difficulty extending drives on the most critical downs, converting just one of 10 third downs and one of six fourth downs.

“(Madison’s) a tough team,” BC defensive back Roshaun Hehman said. “Defensively, in the first half, we came out flat. In the second half, we really picked it up. At halftime, we discussed our rules, what we need to do, what we need to improve on, how we need to rotate. We talked about coming together and winning the football game.”

Hehman, a senior, had four tackles, including a key tackle for loss, and had two pass break-ups. Middle linebacker Grayson Cassidy led BC with seven tackles, followed by Cameron Markel’s five stops.

Jaxson Johnson’s interception of Madison quarterback Matt McCarty’s pass in the first quarter set up Brownstown’s first touchdown of the night, a 63-yard up-the-gut run by fullback Trevor Branaman.

Branaman’s run was the longest rushing TD of the season for BC. The junior led Brownstown runners with 98 yards, his season-high, on just seven carries.

Hutcheson followed Branaman’s long run with a two-yard TD run with 2:07 left in the first quarter that gave Brownstown a 14-0 lead. Hutcheson added a four-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter that closed out the Braves’ scoring.

Perhaps the Braves’ prettiest TD of the night was Easton Branaman’s 22-yard hitch-and-go reception from Sheffer with 43 seconds left in the third quarter. The pass play came on fourth-and-5 and was set up by a similar play called on third down.

“I’m not going to lie, I was a little clueless about what we were doing,” Sheffer said. “It was third and 10 and we ran a five-yard hitch, and we got stopped short. Then he called the hitch and go, and I was like, that shows how good a coach he is, he was setting them up. They bit on the five-yard hitch so hard, it left Easton wide open. Easton and I come in on our spare time a lot to throw. I really think that’s helped us a lot this year.”

The TD was Branaman’s second of the year. The senior led all BC receivers with six catches for 70 yards.

The Braves ran for a season-low 213 yards but because of their productive passing (165 yards), they ended the night with 378 total yards, just under their average of 396.

Madison’s McCarty ended with 152 yards on 15 for 25 passing. Jake Dyer led the Cubs with 100 receiving yards on five catches. Schafer finished with 62 yards on 13 rushes.

“We’ve played three tough games,” Madison’s Benintende said. “We played Providence and fumbled on the two-yard line and wound up losing that game, 13-8. We played Heritage Christian and they had two goal line stands. We lost 18-8. Now this game. We’re right where we need to be. Our goal at the beginning of the season was to win our sectional, and that hasn’t changed.”

Friday’s game was halted for nearly 20 minutes in the first quarter when Madison’s Eli Stewart suffered a severe lower left leg injury while attempting to tackle BC’s Garrison. Trainers from both teams worked on Stewart at midfield until he was transported by Jackson County EMS to a local hospital.

Friday night was also Senior Night for Brownstown’s six seniors. Hehman, Hutcheson, Markel, Jaden Disque, Jairdyn Kiser and Easton Branaman were feted at halftime.

“We’ve had our ups and downs, we’ve had injuries, but I love this group,” Hehman said. “They make the team better in so many ways. Individually, we bring so much athleticism and difference to the game.”

Week 7 — Brownstown

Braves 42, Cubs 14

Madison (3-4);8;6;0;0;—;14

Brownstown Central (7-0);14;7;14;7;—;42

First quarter

BC-Trevor Branaman 63-yard run (Nathaniel Conyer kick), 9:22

BC-Gregory Hutcheson 2-yard run (Conyer kick), 2:07

M-James Schafer 1-yard run (Schafer run), 1:00

Second quarter

M-Schafer 1-yard run (run failed), 6:14

BC-Lane Pendleton 17 yard pass from Micah Sheffer (Conyer kick), 2:05

Third quarter

BC-Hutcheson 85-yard kickoff return (Conyer kick), 11:47

BC-Easton Branaman 22-yard pass from Sheffer (Conyer kick), :43

Fourth quarter

BC-Hutcheson 4-yard run (Conyer kick), 2:52

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Madison-Schafer 13-62, Joseph Stanley 6-22, Jake Dyer 3-13, Matt McCarty 1-5, Taytem Anderson 1-1, Jackson Dean 3-(-4), Totals 27-99. Brownstown-T. Branaman 7-98, Hutcheson 14-49, Jack Pace 8-35, Sheffer 5-26, Evan Stahl 2-5, Preston Garrison 2-0, Totals 38-213.

Passing: Madison-McCarty 15 for 25, 152 yards, 1 interception; Dyer 2 for 2, 34 yards. Brownstown-Sheffer 11 for 15, 165 yards, 2 touchdowns, 1 interception.

Receiving: Madison-Dyer 5-100, Quincy Reynolds 4-29, Schafer 3-28, Stanley 4-23, Anderson 1-6. Brownstown-E. Branaman 6-70, Pendleton 2-53, Pace 1-14, Garrison 1-12, Hutcheson 0-10, T. Branaman 1-6.