OxfordPress.com

An offensive shootout in Talawanda's first football game of the season last Friday resulted in the Braves falling on the low end of the scoring fest, as they lost to Eaton 37-27. The game, played in front of a packed house in Oxford, saw the two teams combine for 830 yards of total offense, but in the end it was

Talawanda's inability to defend the pass that did them in.

Eaton quarterback Jeremy Fudge competed 21 of 36 passes for 298 yards and three touchdowns in the contest, and picked apart a young Braves secondary that was caught off-guard by the aerial assault.

"We thought we had them figured out on tape but they didn't hold to true to what we saw," said senior Rhys Newman. "We thought we knew where they liked to pass and where they liked to run, but it didn't happen that way and it messed up a bit."

But it was Talawanda that scored the game's first touchdown when running back Tyler Williams broke two tackles at the line-of-scrimmage and high-tailed it into the endzone on a 38-yard scamper early in the first quarter. Williams — who totaled 101 yards on 10 carries — showcased the speed and power that has made him one of the district's top rushing talents, but leg cramps early in the third quarter sidelined him for the remainder of the game.

"Tyler has a history of going down with cramps like this, but it didn't really hurt us that much because we were down and were forced to throw the ball," said Talawanda coach Mike Wright, now in his second season as head coach. "But we're a little thin (at running back) right now, so it is a concern."

The Eaton Eagles, meanwhile, had their pick of how to attack the Braves. Even in tossing the ball 36 times, they dominated the game in time of possession, 28 minutes and 23 seconds to 19 minutes and 37 seconds.

Despite the defense's ineffectiveness, the Braves' potent offense did enough to keep the game in doubt well into the fourth quarter. Wright acknowledged his squad's struggles but saw enough to remain optimistic about the team's prospects.

"On the defensive side of the ball we have to shore up some things, but our kids played hard tonight and never quit," Wright said. "We have (many) guys that have never played on a Friday night and in an atmosphere like this, so you know this will go a long way toward experience for our kids. Hopefully the experience of tonight can boost us into the Kings game."