BROOKVILLE — Eaton flexed its muscle on both sides of the ball in a battle of two of the top teams in the Southwestern Buckeye League’s West Division.
Using a dominating running game and a ball-hawking defense, the Eagles shut down the host Blue Devils 29-7 on Friday, Oct. 1, to move to 7-0 overall and 4-0 in the SWBL.
Brookville fell to 5-2 overall and 2-2 in the SWBL.
“Anytime we can come to Brookville and hold them to seven points, but come away with a victory of any score, I’m just really proud of guys tonight,” Eaton coach Brad Davis said moments after his defeated the Blue Devils for the first time since 2014. “That was quite the game.”
Davis was quick to praise the play of Brady Rice, Gabe Puckett, Reid Tinstman, Hayden Bratton, Zach Schaffer and Breyden Boston who consistently opened holes for running back Aiden Williams.
“When you’re able to run the ball at the end of the game when everybody in the stadium knows you’re going to run the ball and have success doing it. That says something about your rushing attack,” Davis said. “And we were able to successfully do that.”
Williams rushed for 222 yards and a touchdown on the night.
On the defensive side of the ball it was many of the same names who controlled the game.
“Loved the way that defensive line played tonight, we were able to get some pressure on the quarterback without blitzing,” Davis said. “Really proud of the way they kind of stifled to run rushing attack as well.”
The Eagles held the Blue Devils to just 89 yards rushing and 181 total yards for the game.
Brookville took a 7-0 lead early in the second quarter, taking advantage of an Eaton turnover. The Blue Devils drove 76 yards in four plays on the drove.
Eaton quickly responded as Josh Martin returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown.
After the Eagles forced Brookville to punt, the offensive line set the tone for the rest of the game.
Williams carried the ball seven straight times as Eaton drove 64 yards in just over five minutes to take the lead on a one-yard touchdown run by quarterback Brock Ebright.
Eaton’s momentum continued in the third quarter, taking the first possession 57 yards in nine plays. The drive was capped off by an Ebright 26-yard touchdown pass to Leslie Orr for a 20-6 lead with 6:35 remaining.
The Eagles regained possession with 54 seconds left in the quarter after forcing a Brookville punt.
Eaton took nearly eight minutes off the clock as they drove the ball to the Blue Devil one-yard line and appeared to score on back-to-back quarterback sneaks, but the officials ruled Ebright didn’t reach the end zone on either play, turning the ball over on downs.
That’s when the Eagles defense stepped up.
Boston pulled down a Brookville running back in the end zone just two plays later for a safety to give his team a 22-7 lead with 3:25 left.
Williams then put the game out of reach with a 55-yard touchdown run with 1:36 left in the game.
“We knew it was going to be a hard game, a physical game, and fortunate to come out on top,” Davis said. “We’re just going to be 1-0 this week and then we’re going to move on to move on to Carlisle.”
