Arcola’s early dominance eliminates Brown County in second round of playoffs

By Steve Eighinger

MOUNT STERLING, Ill. — Brown County’s football season was barely 15 minutes in the rear-view mirror when Hornets coach Tom Little began the process of getting ready for next year, which means he’ll first look back before looking ahead.

“It’s a little different than it used to be … we will reflect a little more before we start thinking about next season,” said Little, whose 20th year at Brown County came to an end on a sun-splashed Saturday afternoon.

A dominant first half by Arcola set the stage for an eventual 52-32 victory in the second round of the Class 1A playoffs. Arcola led 31-0 at intermission.

“The older I get, the more I like to reflect,” Little said. “It’s hard to come up with the right words right now.”

Brown County ended 6-5, dropping four of its final five starts. Arcola (9-2) advances to the quarterfinals.

“It was a privilege to have coached these kids,” Little said. “We’re going to lose 12 seniors, but we’ll have 29 kids coming back. Hopefully, more kids will see the excitement of (playoff football) and want to be a part of it.

“This is a great place to play. It’s very loud and the crowd is always awesome. We don’t have a track around (the playing field), so the crowd is right on top of the game.”

Arcola was able to take the aforementioned crowd out of the game almost immediately, scoring two touchdowns in the first 7 1/2 minutes — and the Hornets were never able to recover.

“(Arcola) got the two quick touchdowns and it was tough for us to play catch-up,” Little said. “We’re a ball-control type of team.”

Arcola quarterback Beau Edwards completed 5 of 8 passes in the first half — two of them for touchdowns to Tanner Thomas, covering 23 and 34 yards, respectively — and also ran for an 18-yard score to trigger the Red Riders’ early dominance.

On the ground, Arcola relied primarily on Jed Jones, whose straight-head power accounted for 91 yards rushing. All but a handful of Jones’ yardage came during the first two quarters.

Brown County’s offense came to life over the final two periods, particularly in the fourth quarter, but it was too little too late. The Hornets, who trailed 45-8 after three quarters, outscored Arcola 24-7 over the closing nine minutes.

Running back Brody Woodward enjoyed the biggest day for the Hornets, rushing for 150 yards, including a 32-yard scoring run. Woodward also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tate Fullerton.

Ezra Keokham ran for 87 yards and Coly Wort added 46 yards as the Hornets finished with a respectable 299 yards rushing. Keokham and Wort each ran for one touchdown.

Fullerton completed 5 of 11 passes for 85 yards and a touchdown. He closed out his Brown County career No. 6 in passing yardage (1,722) and No. 4 in touchdown throws (27).