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Trailing by six in the first quarter, Bellbrook turned the tables on the Arrows in the form of a an Ethan Savey interception.
Three plays later, Golden Eagles quarterback Brendan Labensky threw a 57-yard bomb to receiver Jack Campbell to give Bellbrook a 7-6 lead.
“It was a designed play, an out and up and the corner bit,” Labensky said. “(The score) was good for my nerves, it really got me into the game and we built off that and kept it rolling.”
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Moments later, Bellbrook had the ball back thanks to the hands of senior Alex Mumy, who recovered his fourth fumble of the season.
Two plays later, running back Sedric Ferguson took a 31-yard handoff to the house, and the two turnovers by Tecumseh put the Arrows in a hole they wouldn’t dig out of.
“Kids make mistakes. It’s a football game, they’re not doing it on purpose,” Tecumseh coach Chris Cory said. “But you can’t have turnovers, you can’t have penalties and there were too many of those tonight.”
Trailing 21-6 in the third, Tecumseh stayed in the game thanks to quarterback-halfback-jack of-all-trades Jayden McFarland. The 6-foot, 240 pounder willed his team back into the contest during a drive that chewed up half of the third quarter.
McFarland rushed for just 66 yards, but stats aren’t everything. His most impressive play of the drive came on 4th and 12 on the Eagles 46. McFarland dropped back to pass, and when the play broke up, the senior went full-blown Ben Roethlisberger, escaping a sack, evading defenders and bouncing off would-be tacklers, rushing for the first down.
Three plays later, McFarland lowered his shoulder, knocked a defender out of the way and scored on a 6-yard run to close the gap to 21-13 with 1:24 left in the third.
That momentum would be short-lived, though.
Labensky found success again looking for Campbell on a 53-yard hookup. The 6-foot-4 senior wideout collected three passes for 110 yards.
Bellbrook finished the drive with a 4-yard run from Justin Sloan to make it 28-13 with 11:16 left.
The Golden Eagles improved to 2-1 and begin Southwestern Buckeye League play at Brookville next Friday.
The Arrows (0-3) host Northwestern next Friday. During the game, Tecumseh will honor its former longtime coach, Kent Massie, who died unexpectedly in June. Massie’s wife, Mary, and two young sons, Dalton and Louis, will be honorary coaches.
“It will certainly be an emotional night,” Cory said. “I’ve known Kent for more than the 20 years I coached with him. I’ve known him for a long time. It will be emotional. It will be a difficult night.”
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