(Article) Andrean 7, Brownstown Central 0

 

The class 2-A title game would pit Andrean (12-1) against Brownstown Central (14-0). The Braves came in leading the state in scoring with an average of 54.79 points per game while holding their opponent to 11 points a game. Andrean came in averaging 28.4 points a game, while holding their opponents to 12.1 points a game.

The 59ers defense would show that they were going to be stout in this one as they started off holding the powerful Central offense to just 13 yards on their first drive. The highlight for the offense was two five-yard runs from Trevor Branaman.

The Central defense would hold the Andrean offense to thirty yards and no points the first time they got on the field. The highlight for the defense was made by Owen Wischmeier, who got to Brady Elish for a loss of four yards.

Defense continued to rule the nest in the second quarter, starting with an interception by Kye Trueblood on a pass thrown by Andrean quarterback Dylan Gore, with 11:48 left in the half.

On the ensuing drive the Braves were facing a fourth and eleven with 9:27 left in the half when Micah Sheffer lined up with what was to be a punt, but he instead threw a strike to Trueblood, picking up twenty-five yards. The drive ended with a punt by Sheffer that went for forty yards and a touchback.

Wischmeier would make back-to-back good plays for the Braves defense. He held Brady Elish to no gain and then got to Javier McCoy for a loss of two. Wischmeier would end up with 16 total tackles, with 7 of those being of the solo variety. Elish would hit Tyler Vo for 16 yards on third and twelve. With 4:49 left in the half, Evan Stahl Yo for a loss of four after the catch. It looked like Elish connected with Yo again, this time for a 67-yard touchdown, but a holding penalty negated the score. Things would get worse for the 59ers at the 3:56 mark of the quarter when Elsih coughed up the ball, and scooping it up for the Braves was Evan Stahl, who raced yards to give his offense a first and ten at the 59ers' sixteen-yard line. Wischmeier caused the fumble.

The 59ers defense would stand tall, giving up zero yards on the ensuing drive. Once the 59ers offense came back onto the field, they would get two completions from Elish to Gavin Jones for a total of 60 yards. Jones would total four catches for 110 yards when all was said and done.

Each team would turn in one big defensive play before the half came to a close. For the Braves, Joe Roberts got to Brady Stovall for a loss of five. Roberts ended his day with a total of five tackles. The big play for Andrean came from Landon Murray and Christian Gavin, who combined to get to Trey Sweany for a short loss.

The 59ers got the offense going early in the third when Elish connected with Mark Grubbs Jr. for 23 yards. Elish then used his feet to pick up 16 yards, with 10:02 showing on the clock. Grayson Cassidy helped end the drive when he threw Dylan Gore down for a loss of six.

The Braves converted a fourth and one when Micah Sheffer used the work from the big boys up front to squeeze out a gain of two. The drive again ended with zero points being scored.

The third quarter would bring three big offensive plays by the 59ers before it came to an end. Elish hit Vo for 16 yards, then Elish picked up 28 yards when he acted like Kurtis Rourke running for twenty-eight yards. The final big play came when Elish found Gavin Jones, who busted a tackle and moved the ball to the Braves' five-yard line. The Braves defense would have two huge defensive plays before the quarter ended. On second and third down from the one-yard line, they stopped Elish for no gain.

The first play of the final quarter, Wischmeier stopped Javier McCoy to force a turnover on downs.

Facing a third and ten from their own one, the Braves would pick up the first when Brock Dean picked up twelve yards, with a little under 11:00 left in the scoreless game.

The 59ers offense was on the move with 6:02 remaining, with Elish taking the ball to the Braves' ten-yard line. Stopping the play with another tackle was Wischmeier. With 5:51 left, Elish ran to the two-yard line, setting up the two-yard touchdown run from Brady Stovall. Jax Alvrez ended the scoring with his PAT to make this a 7-0 game.

The Brave would make things interesting when Preston Garrison made a leaping catch in double coverage for a gain of thirty-eight. But on the fourth and fifteen, Garrison only picked up eleven yards, turning the ball over on downs where the 59ers ran out the clock with 0:59 seconds.

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