SELLERSBURG—Brownstown Central’s football team scored 30 first-half points and pulled away to a convincing 44-6 win over Silver Creek on Friday night.

The victory improved the Braves’ record to 6-0 in the Mid-Southern Conference, clinching a share of the league title. Next week, BC takes on second-place Scottsburg (6-2 overall, 5-1 MSC) with a chance to claim the conference crown outright.

The MSC title is the 25th in program history for Brownstown and the 22nd in head coach Reed May’s 32 seasons.

“It’s a great accomplishment for our kids,” May said. “Obviously, we want to win it outright. Scottsburg is a really good team, so we’re going to have to play well next week. But we’ve got (a share of the title) no matter what.”

The Braves got to work early on Friday night, blocking a punt after Silver Creek’s first possession and recovering a fumbled snap on the Dragons’ second drive. Isaac Hutchinson fell on the blocked punt while Evan Stahl outhustled SC quarterback Kam Black to recover the fumble.

BC converted both opportunities into touchdowns on runs by Trevor Branaman and Gregory Hutcheson and held a 14-0 lead inside the game’s first five minutes.

Despite its early momentum, Brownstown wasn’t immune to mistakes of its own.

Two defensive penalties aided a five-minute, 80-yard Silver Creek drive that ended in the Dragons’ only touchdown of the night. Moments later, Hutcheson fumbled, and lost, the ball while returning the ensuing kickoff.

After BC’s defense forced a turnover on downs, however, Hutcheson quickly made up for the mistake by breaking through the left side of the line for a 75-yard touchdown run that restored the Braves’ two-score lead.

“I went outside and came off a block by Trevor Branaman, and it was just wide open from there,” Hutcheson said. “I was running as fast as I could down the sideline. There was one kid who jumped for me but couldn’t catch me. I had to make up for (fumbling) because I left my team out to dry right there.”

Hutcheson more than redeemed himself, running for 192 yards and three touchdowns on eight carries. The 75-yard run is the longest rushing TD of the season for the Braves.

Now with five 100-yard rushing games this season, Hutcheson is fast approaching the 1,000-yard milestone. He has 981 yards and 17 TDs on 77 attempts through eight games.

“He’s a man possessed,” May said. “He’s doing a great job. The kickoff fumble was not a good thing, but he runs hard. We try not to use him much on defense to keep him fresh for offense, but we have to use him some (on defense).”

Following Hutcheson’s long TD run, Brownstown’s defense again forced Silver Creek into a turnover on downs, handing the ball back to the offense with 3:36 left in the first half. The Braves ran their two-minute offense and enjoyed their best drive of the night.

Hutcheson started the possession with a 20-yard run, followed by a 14-yard Micah Sheffer-to-Easton Branaman reception. Brock Dean then broke a 35-yard run to the SC five yard line where Stahl ran for a touchdown to give BC a 27-6 lead.

The drive covered 74 yards in four plays and took just 47 seconds. Combined with another up-tempo drive just before halftime that resulted in a Nathaniel Conyer field goal and a 13-yard touchdown run by Lindan Lanier to open the second half, the Braves scored 16 unanswered points to transform a 15-point lead into a 37-6 advantage.

“That was big,” May said. “That helped open the game up. We work on two-minute offense every Tuesday. We work on our passing game, so we feel like our up-tempo is pretty good. The kids executed really well.”

Conyer’s 28-yard field goal was his third of the season in four attempts. He’s also made 46 of 54 point-after attempts.

“Hitting field goals feels good after working on it all summer,” Conyer said. “The one thing for me right now is consistency. I feel better than I did at the start of the season. Coming into games, I’m real nervous, but after my first two (extra points), I get comfortable. It’s just muscle memory.”

A week after having his best throwing game of the season, Sheffer followed up with 82 yards on 6-for-11 passing. His night was highlighted by a 31-yard pass completion on third-and-15 that tight end Lane Pendleton somehow caught despite being draped by a Silver Creek defender.

Easton Branaman led BC receivers with three catches for 40 yards.

Defensively, the Braves were led by Grayson Cassidy’s seven tackles. Brock Dean, Joe Roberts and Hutchinson each added five tackles. Roshaun Hehman forced a fumble on a hard hit on SC receiver Silas Fleming, which Jack Pace recovered.

Braves 44, Dragons 6

Brownstown Central (8-0);14;16;14;0;—;44

Silver Creek (3-5);0;6;0;0;—;6

First quarter

BC-Trevor Branaman 1 run (Nathaniel Conyer kick), 7:37

BC-Gregory Hutcheson 16 run (Conyer kick), 7:16

Second quarter

SC-Kam Black 8 run (kick blocked), 8:56

BC-Hutcheson 75 run (Conyer kick), 6:46

BC-Evan Stahl 5 run (kick failed), 2:45

BC-Conyer 28 field goal, :01

Third quarter

BC-Lindan Lanier 13 run (Conyer kick), 9:01

BC-Hutcheson 35 run (Conyer kick), :00

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

Rushing: Brownstown-Hutcheson 8-192, Brock Dean 6-48, Jack Pace 4-34, T. Branaman 6-31, Lanier 4-16, Stahl 2-8, Landon Ault 2-7, Micah Sheffer 1-1, Totals 33-337. Silver Creek-Jamari Powell 18-77, Sam Elliott 3-35, Sam Conn 8-5, Black 4-4, Totals 33-121.

Passing: Brownstown-Sheffer 6 for 11, 82 yards. Silver Creek-Black 9 for 18, 96 yards.

Receiving: Brownstown-Easton Branaman 3-40, Lane Pendleton 1-31, Hutcheson 2-11. Silver Creek-Conn 1-39, Silas Fleming 2-25, Drake Oltman 4-24, Deontay Gazaway 1-12, Ethan Caldwell 1-(-4).