Brown scores 6 TDs in Bellevue's 56-21 win

HURON — Bellevue had a fight on its hands. The Redmen were in cruise control in the second quarter, but a late Huron touchdown got the Tigers back in the game. Bellevue got a touchdown from quarterback Ike Brown to open the second half en route to defeating Huron 56-21 in Northern Ohio Conference Bay Division action Friday. "Huron has players and they make plays," Redmen coach Alex Shepherd said. "We knew going in that they had the ability to compete with anybody. They've had some bad luck in their first six games. We were playing like they were going to give us a fourth-quarter battle." The 56 points are the most Bellevue has scored this season. The Redmen have scored 42 or more points five times this year. Bellevue only scored 42 or more points twice since the beginning of the 2022 season, including just once last year. "Ike being a three-year starter, we put some things on his shoulders to allow him to make some decisions," Shepherd said. "Right now, he's making some good ones." The Redmen (5-2, 2-0 NOC Bay) were up 21-7 when it got the ball in the second quarter. Bellevue got a first down, but a pair of holding penalties hurt the drive. The Redmen punted and the Tigers (0-7, 0-2) took over at its own 24. Bellevue came up with a big play defensively when Evan Bova stepped in front of a pass by Robert Fisher and returned it 24 yards for the touchdown. Zach Moses added the extra point, giving Bellevue a 28-7 edge with 2:14 left in the first half. Instead of being conservative, Huron pushed over the final two minutes. Fisher hit Grant Periat for an 11-yard pass. After an incomplete pass and sack, the Tigers faced 3rd-and-15. Sam Reyes took the ensuing handoff, his first of the night. He exploded 51 yards to the Bellevue 11. A couple plays later, Fisher rumbled in from a yard out for the touchdown. The extra point brought Huron within 28-14 at halftime. But, Brown continued a big night early in the third quarter. After three touchdowns in the first half, the senior led Bellevue down the field on the first drive of the second half. Thomas Reesman opened with a 19-yard carry before Brown went for 13 yards. Reesman added a 12-yard carry before Brown hit Reesman for a 22-yard pass. A few plays later, Brown went up the middle for a five-yard touchdown run. The extra point by Moses gave the Redmen a 35-14 lead with 8:28 left in the third quarter. Brown didn't quit there. After Huron punted, the Redmen used some clock. Brown was effective on the drive, completing all six passes he threw. The last was a 15-yard strike up the middle to Caden Cramer, his third score of the night. Moses pushed the lead to 42-14 with 12 seconds left in the third quarter. "We didn't like the way we finished the first half," Shepherd said. "We did a lot of good things, but we had some miscues we didn't think we should have done. We wanted to come out and set the tone in the second half and get things rolling the right way." Brown put the final nail in the coffin in the fourth quarter. After an 11-yard run by Bova, Brown hit Cramer for 15 yards. Then, Brown found a wide-open Justin Bucher for a 47-yard touchdown. "He's making good decisions and he's finding his guys," said Shepherd of Brown. "He's not focusing on one person. He's spreading the ball out and taking what they're giving us. We have a lot of guys we trust. He's doing a good job of distributing." Moses' extra point sent the game into a running clock with 8:27 left in the fourth quarter. Huron answered when Nixon Dike caught a 38-yard touchdown pass from Fisher. But, Bucher returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for the touchdown. That put Bellevue up 56-21 with 4:06 to play. Brown completed 18 of 22 passes for 271 yards and four touchdowns. He ran 13 times for 71 yards and two touchdowns. He had 387 yards of offense and five touchdowns in last week's win over Edison. "I'm feeling comfortable with the offense," Brown said. "I make my reads and stay calm up under pressure." Bellevue opened the scoring in the first quarter after forcing the Tigers into a three-and-out. Brown hit Bucher for 19 yards before Bova went for 10 yards. A few plays later, Brown picked up 13 yards on the ground. After a short loss, Brown connected with Cramer on a swing pass. Cramer went around a blocker and up the Redmen sideline for a 34-yard touchdown. Moses made it 7-0 with 5:19 left in the first quarter. Huron didn't wait long to return as Periat took the ensuing kickoff 86 yards for the touchdown. Carter Brennan's extra point tied the game at 7. From there, the Redmen took control. Bellevue took over at its own 45 after a Huron punt. Brown connected with Bucher for 12 yards before Konner Dauch hauled in a 13-yard pass. After a run by Bova, Brown kept it himself and was off to the races for a 23-yard touchdown run. Moses made it 14-7 with 43 seconds left in the opening quarter. Bellevue's defense forced another three-and-out and took advantage of a short field. Taking over at the 50, the Redmen used seven straight runs to get in the red zone. Once there, Cramer caught an 11-yard touchdown pass from Brown for a 21-7 Bellevue lead. Cramer finished with six receptions for 95 yards and three touchdowns. "We have plenty of talent," Shepherd said. "Caden is a really good player, so any time we can get him the ball, good things usually happen. When they're doing to cover him, we have guys that can do similar things." Huron is back in action next week at Vermilion (6-1, 1-0) Bellevue hosts Tiffin Columbian (5-2) next Friday. "Tiffin is always really good," Shepherd said. "We're expecting a battle next week. We have to have a really good week of practice and be ready to strap it up next week." Bellevue 14 14 14 14 — 56 Huron 7 7 0 7 — 21 B — Caden Cramer 34 pass from Ike Brown (Zach Moses kick) H — Grant Periat 86 kickoff return (Carter Brennan kick) B — Brown 23 run (Moses kick) B — Cramer 11 pass from Brown (Moses kick) B — Evan Bova 24 interception return (Moses kick) H — Robert Fisher 1 run (Brennan kick) B — Brown 5 run (Moses kick) B — Cramer 15 pass from Brown (Moses kick) B — Justin Bucher 47 pass from Brown (Moses kick) H — Nixon Dike 38 pass from Fisher (Brennan kick) B — Bucher 82 kickoff return (Moses kick)