By JACOB MOORE, for The Democrat
After falling behind early, Brown County rallied against North Putnam Friday and pulled out a 34-31 victory. The victory evens the Eagles’ record at 4-4.
The game was dramatic from start to finish. All in one game, the Eagles would face a double-digit deficit, score 22 unanswered points, surrender the lead in the fourth quarter, retake the lead with a late touchdown, and finally clinch victory by forcing a sixth North Putnam turnover.
The visiting Cougars went up 7-0 after a 2-yard touchdown by Mason Ray with 7:26 left in the first quarter. The score might sound routine, except that Ray is a 6-foot-4, 270-pound lineman whose touchdown plunge resembled William “the refrigerator” Perry’s famous Super Bowl touchdown.
Late in the quarter, junior Kody Walsh fumbled and the Cougars recovered on Brown County’s 9-yard line. Brayden Polley would ultimately hit a 28-yard field goal to put North Putnam ahead 10-0 with 1:01 left in the first quarter.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]After a tough first quarter, Brown County would outscore North Putnam 22-0 in the second. No player had a bigger hand in this than Walsh, who bounced back from his earlier fumble to personally force three North Putnam turnovers in the second quarter. The first, a fumble recovery, gave Brown County the ball on the Cougars’ 31-yard line with 9:51 to play in the second quarter.
Two plays later, junior quarterback Seth Oliphant hit junior wide receiver Malachi Nickels with a 31-yard touchdown pass with 9:35 left in the half.
Less than two minutes later, the Eagles landed points on the board again. This score came courtesy of a 60-yard interception return for a touchdown by Walsh. Asked about his dive into the end zone, Walsh explained, “There was a big boy chasing me, so I was just trying to run my hardest to get to the end zone. I had to dive at the end to not get tackled.”
The two-point conversion by Junior Wanblee Roux put the Eagles ahead 14-10 with 7:51 left in the half.
Late in the first half, North Putnam threatened to reclaim the lead with a drive deep into Brown County territory. The drive ended when Walsh picked off another pass, his third forced turnover of the quarter.
To score, the Eagles had one minute to drive 74 yards. With 16 seconds left in the half, Oliphant and Nickels connected for another touchdown, this one covering 19 yards. Oliphant scored on the two-point conversion, giving the Eagles a 22-10 halftime lead.
Early in the third quarter, North Putnam closed the gap to 22-17 when Cougar quarterback Gunner Burress found Cody Perkins with a 15-yard touchdown pass.
North Putnam’s next possession was stopped when junior Carter Kelly recovered a Cougar fumble near midfield with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter. Forty seconds later, Carter would haul in a 5-yard scoring pass from Oliphant, putting Brown County up 28-17 with 5:40 left in the third quarter.
Brown County botched a punt snap, giving North Putnam the ball in Eagle territory. The Cougars capitalized when Burress found Colton Clifford on a 20-yard touchdown pass, narrowing the Eagle lead to 28-24.
North Putnam reclaimed the lead at 31-28 with 8:41 left in fourth quarter when Burress again connected with Clifford for a touchdown, this one covering 41 yards.
The game had become a see-saw affair. To win, the Eagles would have to come back one more time.
Oliphant gave the ensuing drive a shot in the arm with a 25-yard pass to Nickels to take the ball into Cougar territory with 7:17 remaining in the game. A 15-yard run by Roux brought the Eagles within striking distance with 5:16 to play.
On the next play, Oliphant found Ely on a 15-yard touchdown pass in the corner of the end zone. “I got behind (the Cougar defender),” Ely said. “It was a perfect throw. I credit our quarterback big time. He put it right there.”
The score put the Eagles on top 34-31 with 4:10 seconds left in the game. But there was still fight in the Cougars. On their ensuing drive, North Putnam quickly drove into Brown County territory. The Cougars seemed on the verge of winning the game or tying with a field goal.
With two minutes left to play, Ely would preserve the Eagle win by swooping in front of a North Putnam receiver and intercepting the pass. This was Ely’s second interception and the sixth turnover forced by Brown County.
Brown County hosts Edgewood in the regular season finale this Friday at 7 p.m. That game will be the first of a double-header of sorts, as the Eagles also drew the Mustangs as their first-round sectional opponent. That sectional game will be at Edgewood on Friday, Oct. 23.
