By JACOB MOORE | For The Democrat

This year’s football season began on a tough note for Brown County High School with a 77-7 loss to Owen Valley on Friday.

The Eagles hosted defending Western Indiana Conference champions the Patriots on Aug. 19.

Brown County had 23 players in uniform and about 20 of them were freshmen or sophomores. Meanwhile, Owen Valley High School suited up 75 players from a roster laden with juniors and seniors.

Owen Valley may also be the toughest opponent on Brown County’s schedule this season.

“They return almost everyone (from last year’s team) on offense,” said Eagles coach Colton Sample. “We knew we would have to play at a high-level to be competitive tonight, and we did not.”

An additional challenge for Brown County was uncertainty around who would fill the quarterback position this year.

Looking back to 2016, only two players had started at quarterback for the Eagles: Noah Carter and Seth Oliphant. Carter graduated in 2020 and Oliphant graduated this past May.

For the first home game of the season, the Eagles senior Ethan Spiece started at quarterback, punter and kicker, despite Spiece competing the previous three years as wide receiver. At various points in the game, Spiece would shift to running back and allow sophomore Noah Lewis or freshman Vince Carfiro to take snaps as quarterback.

Enjoying significant advantages in both experience and physical maturity, Owen Valley seized control of the contest early. The Patriots kicked off to begin the game, but forced a fumble on the return. The Patriots cashed in on the turnover when Owen Valley senior running back Christian McDonald took a handoff 28 yards for a touchdown with 10:51 left in the first quarter.

Brown County was forced to punt on its ensuing possession, but Patriot senior linebacker Dillon Risk burst through the line to block the punt. The Patriots capitalized on the field position with a 10-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Brody Lester to senior wide receiver Chris Zellstra. The score put Owen Valley up 14-0 with 8:56 to play in the first quarter.

On the next drive, the Eagles had their first big gain of the night as Spiece connected for a 15-yard pass with senior wide receiver Ollie Normile to the 50-yard line.

The Eagles couldn’t sustain the drive, but a punt forced the Patriots to start a drive in their own territory for the first time in the game.

On the ensuing Owen Valley drive, the Eagles forced a third down and long, looking poised to take possession in a good field position. But on that third down play, the Patriots ran an end-around play with Zellstra taking a hand off 65 yards for a touchdown and extending the Patriots’ lead to 21-0 with 2:18 left in the first quarter.

The Patriots would go on to score eight more touchdowns.

Despite being physically outmatched, the Eagles avoided a shutout. Trailing 49-0 with 4:05 left in the second quarter, Lewis found sophomore running back Ben Wagler with a pass over the middle. Wagler turned up field and barreled through Patriot defenders into the end zone for an 11-yard touchdown.

After the game, Sample told the team it would be important to move forward and prepare to play better next week.

“We’re going to look at the film and work on ourselves. This won’t be the same team next week,” he said.

A major reason the Eagles were shorthanded Friday was that 10 players who would have suited up were unable to do so. There were various reasons, but many of those players had not completed the necessary number of practices to be eligible.

“Some kids didn’t get physicals in early enough. Others were banged up,” Sample said.

Brown County hosts Jennings County on Aug. 26 at 7 p.m. Sample said the Eagles should have up to 35 players available to play against the Panthers.

Jennings County went 1-9 last season, including an 18-14 loss to Brown County. The Panthers opened the 2022 campaign with a 28-0 loss to South Dearborn.

Sample said he is looking forward to the contest.

“We absolutely have to get better,” he said.

“We’re still planning on Jennings County coming in and competing.”