Western Brown’s Brayden Harmon breaks through a tackle after grabbing a reception in the Broncos’ Sept. 15 game against Miami Trace. Photo by Wade Linville
Western Brown’s Isaiah Smith hauls in a touchdown reception during the Broncos’ Sept. 15 game against Miami Trace.
Western Brown’s Isaiah Smith takes a reception for a big gain in the Broncos’ week five game against Miami Trace. Photo by Wade Linville
Western Brown quarterback Brady Sutton gets good protection from blockers Brian Smith Jr. (No. 58), Matthew Osborne (No. 25) and Damian Valdez (No. 66) during their week five game against Miami Trace on Sept. 15. Photo by Wade Linville
Western Brown defenders take down a Miami Trace ball carrier in week five on the gridiron Sept. 15. Photo by Wade Linville
Western Brown’s junior quarterback, Brady “Shotgun” Sutton, fired for a total of 408 passing yards and senior wide receiver Isaiah Smith had nearly 300 receiving yards in the Broncos’ week five non-league battle against a skilled team of Miami Trace High School, but unfortunately for the Broncos it was in a losing effort on football homecoming night at Western Brown on Friday, Sept. 15.
The Broncos fell to the Miami Trace Panthers 63-31, dropping to an overall record of 1-4 on the season.
Sutton completed 25-of-39 pass attempts in the Sept. 15 contest, and Smith had 15 catches for 296 receiving yards with four touchdowns.
Smith’s performance put him in first in the SBAAC in receiving yards with 856 in five games.
Sutton’s 408 passing yards against Miami Trace moved him into first in the SBAAC in passing yards with 1,586 in five games.
Once again, the Broncos were slow out of the gate, falling behind 21-7 in the first quarter against the now 3-2 Miami Trace Panthers.
The Broncos have gotten off to a slow start in each game this season, managing only one win heading into Southern Buckeye Athletic/Academic Conference American Division play in week six.
In their season opener win at Hillsboro, they faced a 21-0 deficit before rallying back for a 38-27 victory. But the non-league competition has gotten quite a bit stiffer in recent weeks for the Broncos, and their rally attempts have been unsuccessful.
Miami Trace was able to keep up the momentum after getting off to an early 14-0 lead over the Broncos.
The Broncos managed to put together an excellent drive midway through the first period. It was Sutton completing a long pass to senior wide receiver Isaiah Smith to move the Broncos to the Miami Trace 29 yard line.
Sutton connected with Lucas Powell and then Smith to quickly move the Broncos within the Panthers’ 10 yard line, but a penalty put them at first down and 15 yards to go around the Miami Trace 20-yard line. From there, it was Sutton completing a pass to a wide open Matthew Osborne up the middle for a touchdown, and following the successful kick for the extra point, the Broncos had trimmed the Panthers’ lead to 14-7.
The Panthers reached pay dirt once again before the end of the first quarter to extend their lead to 21-7. They went on to outscore the Broncos 14-6 in the second quarter to hold a 35-13 lead at halftime break.
The Panthers returned in the second half to outscore the Broncos 21-6 in the third period, widening the margin to 56-19.
The Broncos put up 12 points in the fourth period to outscore the Panthers 12-7 in the final frame, but the Panthers walked away with a 32-point victory on Western Brown’s homecoming night.
The Broncos begin SBAAC American Division play on Sept. 22 with a league game at home against the Batavia Bulldogs.
Batavia begins league play with a 2-3 overall record after falling to Bethel-Tate 46-14 in week five.
