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Eaton football back on track, gets victory

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By B.J. Bethel, Staff Writer Updated 2:43 AM Saturday, September 17, 2011

BROOKVILLE — The Eaton High School football team was gathered, singing the school’s alma mater along the sideline while coach Ron Neanen watched from about 20 yards away.

While the weary Eagles did their best to belt out the school’s song, Neanen stood with his arms crossed. Some of his assistants and their family members had smiles the size of the football field they were standing on, but the coach and his players had the look of a fighter after 12 rounds of brawling.

Unlike last week, Eaton was the victor on Friday, beating Brookville 41-35 in a shootout. The Eagles lost to Waynesville a week ago in an upset. It was the team’s first regular season loss since October 2009.

“It was big for us to get some of our confidence back,” Neanen said. “We didn’t have a real good week of practice because we had to learn to bounce back from some adversity.”

After scoring a combined 83 points in its first two games, Waynesville held the Eagles and standout quarterback Cole French to 19 in week three. But the biggest toll wasn’t on the scoreboard.

“It was rough,” Neanen said. “It was a real physical game. I think it took more out of us physically than anything. Guys had to heal up and didn’t get to practice for a few games.

“Tonight, I was happy our guys came out and gave this kind of effort. They played real hard.”

They also did what no team this year had done — outscore Brookville. The Blue Devils averaged 49 points per game during the first three weeks of the season — the coup de grace a 64-45 slugfest with Carlisle in week two that set a Brookville record for the most combined points by both teams in a single game.

Friday’s game was just as offensive. The two teams combined for seven touchdowns in the first half. French finished the game 15-of-28 for 230 yards and two touchdowns, while rushing nine times for 30 yards and two more touchdowns. Brookville quarterback Lane Stevenson threw the ball 17 times — one of those an interception to French. Stevenson’s last pass was a 45-yard completion to Carsen Alber. It was one of nine plays over 20 yards by both teams.

Football’s offensive expansion, which has taken place at the pro and college levels, has seeped into high school. Gone are the days where a team picks a formation, and runs it for the next decade. Friday, Brookville ran plays out of the flexbone, full house, shotgun and stacked receiver sets. Eaton had its own multiple sets, each one involving multiple receivers. Brookville had five different running backs record carries while Eaton completed passes to four different receivers.

The saying goes, offense sells, and both Eaton and Brookville have bought in.

“We knew they were going to put points on the board, and we knew we had to score,” Neanen said. “Did we think we would have to score 41? We didn’t know it would be that much.

“Every win in the SWBL you have to earn.”

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