By Cameron Baker
For the Daily Reporter
GREENFIELD — Sectional tournaments are often the pinnacle of high school sports as each team fights to survive to the next game, with many teams having aspirations for a coveted sectional title. Greenfield-Central started its road to the Class 4A Sectional 21 football final with a repeat matchup against Beech Grove — its first opponent of the season.
For the second time this season, Beech Grove had no answer for anything that Greenfield-Central threw at it, as the Cougars won the game in blowout fashion 56-0, marking Greenfield-Central’s highest margin of victory and most points in a game this season.
“We approach every game the same way,” Greenfield-Central coach Travis Nolting said. “We’re not overlooking anyone in the tournament. Anything can happen. They have a really talented running back that we had to bottle up because that guy is good, he’s a Division-I kid. So, we had to go out and play a great three-phase game tonight.”
An interception to start the game — a Dallas Freeman underthrown pass intended for receiver Boston Willard — was just an early speedbump for an offense that went on to score eight touchdowns on the night.
The Cougars high-scoring affair started with a pair of rushing touchdowns from Braylen Benavente that were both scored on 1-yard runs.
Trenton Smith was able to get his name on the scoresheet off an option play that Freeman pitched to him for an easy touchdown. The defense forced a fumble on the Hornets two plays later, and Cooper Hinton ran the ball 26 yards to cap off a four-touchdown first quarter.
The rushing onslaught continued into the second quarter as the Cougars showed no signs of slowing down.
Eddie Mullins tacked on another touchdown early in the quarter on a 2-yard run.
The teams traded interceptions on three of the next six plays, two were by the G-C defense
After the pick-off party, Greenfield-Central returned to the running game which allowed Freeman to pick up back-to-back rushing touchdowns of 31 and 57 yards, respectively.
Including the two interceptions, the Cougar defense played well the entire night, shutting down Army-commit running back Jeremiah Lee for the majority of the game.
“The defense is a special group of guys. There’s so many leaders and great players out there. Zach Blevens, Cooper Hinton, Payton Foley, Trenton Smith, I could go on and on. They’ve all been through our program now for a while and are just doing the things that we have asked them to do over the last four years. We’re proud of their efforts for sure,” Nolting said.
The second half of the game featured a running clock that softened the blow for the Hornets and allowed Greenfield-Central to give its underclassmen some valuable postseason experience.
After freshman quarterback McCoy Wilson scored on an 11-yard rush, kicker Andrew Trabel’s PAT made him the single-season record holder for extra points. He’s 41-for-41 on the season. The former record of 40 was set in 1973 by Jess Richey.
With the team peaking at the right time, Nolting hopes his squad can continue its strong season into the deep parts of the tournament.
“For this group the sky is the limit,” he said. “They can go as far as they want to go. We’ve done a great job at developing the program the last six years that I’ve been here and becoming a competitive force in 4A Indiana football. These kids have done a great job at trusting the process and doing what we’ve asked them to do.”
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Greenfield Central 56, Beech Grove 0
Greenfield Central (8-2); 28;21;7;0; —;56
Beech Grove (4-6); 0;0;0;0; —;0
Scoring Summary
1st Quarter
GC – Braylen Benavente 1 run (Andrew Trabel kick), 6:43
GC- Benavente 1 run (Trabel kick), 3:40
GC- Trenton Smith 8 run (Trabel kick), 2:21
GC- Cooper Hinton 26 run (Trabel kick), 0:51
2nd Quarter
GC- Eddie Mullins 2 run (Trabel kick), 9:44
GC- Dallas Freeman 31 run (Trabel kick), 5:17
GC- Freeman 57 run (Trabel kick), 1:41
3rd Quarter
GC- McCoy Wilson 11 run (Trabel kick), 2:40
