BELLBROOK — Friday night’s game between Bellbrook and Eaton at Bellbrook High School was a matchup of two Southwestern Buckeye League teams trying to get their season back on track.
After an evenly matched first half, Bellbrook (1-4, 0-2 SWBL) struggled to get any offense going. Eaton (2-3, 1-1 SWBL) won 34-7.
“We’re struggling right now,” said Bellbrook coach Kevin Basinger. “We’re struggling with confidence and playing the whole game. We’re just not anywhere near where we need to be right now.”
The visiting Eagles, who scored on their first play from the line of scrimmage, were able to move the ball on Bellbrook’s defense consistently throughout the game.
Eaton quarterback Lew Bowser finished with 147 yards passing and 80 yards rushing. Damon Willard unofficially had 118 yards running in the game, 112 coming in the second half. Tyrell David had 117 yards receiving on four receptions.
The Golden Eagles were able to score early, but mistakes in the second half killed multiple drives.
David Vine finished with 94 yards passing and 53 yards rushing for Bellbrook. Connor Oldham had 35 yards on the ground.
Both teams looked to be evenly matched in the first half. Eaton struck first with a 71-yard touchdown pass on its first play from the line of scrimmage. Bellbrook responded on its ensuing drive when Vine found Rye Bennett on a short pass that turned into a 66-yard touchdown. Eaton scored one more time to take the 13-7 lead into halftime.
But the Golden Eagles failed to make any substantial drives in the second half. All three of their turnovers – two interceptions and a fumble – came in the second half.
Eaton scored on its opening drive of the second half, making it a 19-7 deficit. Basinger said his team lost a lot of confidence at that point. He said he wanted his team to play the whole game through.
“We certainly didn’t play what we hope that kids want to do here at Bellbrook. We didn’t play that kind of football here tonight and it was awful,” he said. “The last two Friday nights we’ve gotten into a situation where we’ve been faced with a tough task – the other team gets a little ahead of us – we stop fighting. We’re not going to win any games if we don’t fight.”
A handful of Bellbrook players left due to injury in the game, adding to a growing list of injured players.
“We lost a couple of key kids…it’s not an excuse. We’re not playing well. We’ve just got to keep our heads up, keep fighting, and keep trying to get better every time we’re out here,” said Basinger.
The Golden Eagles take on Valley View at 7 p.m. next Friday at Bellbrook stadium for Homecoming Weekend.
Score by quarters
Eaton 7 6 6 15 — 34
Bellbrook 7 0 0 0 — 7
Scoring
E — Tyrell David 71 pass from Lew Bowser. Shelby Ward kick.
B — Rye Bennett 66 pass from David Vine. Brady Tincher kick.
E — Austin Hartzler 22 pass from Bowser. Ward kick failed.
E — Damon Willard 3 run. Conversion failed.
E — Willard 1 run. Gaye Wilson two-point conversion from Bowser.
E — Bowser 34 run. Ward kick.
