'How ‘bout them Braves?': Tecumseh rallies past South Spencer to keep perfect season alive

LYNNVILLE, Ind. — Everything came down to one final fourth down.

Tecumseh led South Spencer by eight and had the Rebels down to a position they converted throughout Friday evening. Fourth-and-1 stood between clinching a win and ending a perfect season. The Braves had a two-high safety defense on the field, leading coach Bret Szabo to scramble to get a short-yardage look ready.

When the play was whistled dead, a pile of bodies clad in white and red surrounded the spot the ball was downed. Those in red then jumped in celebration.

Another week, another Tecumseh win.

“I just feel like they said, ‘This is it. We’re winning this football game right here,’” Szabo said. “And that’s what they did.”

Indiana high school football: :Check out all the Evansville-area first-round sectional scores

The Class A No. 5-ranked Braves have seemed untouchable this season but were nearly knocked out Friday. Yet, Tecumseh continued its unbeaten campaign with a 35-27 win over South Spencer in the first round of the sectional, setting up a rematch next Friday with North Daviess — the Braves won 49-12 in Week 1.

Beating the Rebels was another statement for the Braves, who have now matched their win total for the past three seasons combined.

Tecumseh’s last winning season was 2014. In their final year as a true independent before rejoining the Pocket Athletic Conference Small School Division, the Braves have their best record since a 9-2 finish in 2013. Szabo credited his senior class for its leadership, which he said has affected the rest of the team.

“Everybody fights for each other. Nobody wants to be that guy that lets his brother down,” Szabo said. “We have tremendous community support. Our administration is outstanding at supporting our student-athletes across the board. … It’s just rolling in the right direction right now.”

Tecumseh (9-0 … possibly 10-0 depending on the IHSAA’s ruling about an opponent’s ”forfeit” last week) hasn’t just been winning this season, it’s been doing it handily. The Braves’ closest regular-season matchup was their 45-29 triumph over North Posey, and they’re averaging a nearly 25-point winning margin.

Friday was Tecumseh’s biggest test to this point. It was the first time the Braves have trailed in the second half, which makes the comeback and avoiding the upset all the more impressive. While the eight-point margin was the smallest thus far, Szabo and the Braves don’t mind.

“Our team just loves that adversity and that’s what motivates us to keep going and work even harder,” running back Chase Jones said. “We have a phenomenal family on the field and on the sideline.”

Quartrerback Drew DuPont capped Tecumseh’s opening drive with a 22-yard rushing touchdown. After that, running back Chase Jones accounted for all of the Braves’ points, scoring four times and notching a crucial two-point conversion in the process.

Jones is the Braves’ offensive focal point. Szabo knows if his team is going to keep winning, Jones has to be a major reason why. They stressed that at halftime.

Three second-half touchdowns later, the Braves remain perfect.

“I could just tell we were gonna ride him in the second half,” Szabo said. “He just responded. He’s a tremendous football player and put this team on his back offensively tonight.”

Tecumseh’s QB-RB duo has been together since elementary school. DuPont intends to play baseball in college, though Jones said he’d want his quarterback to go with him “wherever I go.” That connection, chemistry and trust were a massive reason the Braves rallied.

“He’s a dog,” DuPont said of Jones. “Kid plays 100% every play no matter what he’s doing. … That really shows the character of a guy, how hard he wants to work and his work ethic just shows how great of a guy he is, how great of a leader he is.”

“He’s that guy you want to be on your team,” Jones said of DuPont. “He knows what he’s doing on defense, on offense. … We just have some connection that not very many people have and I’m very grateful for that.”

Now, Tecumseh looks ahead to North Daviess. The convincing win on opening night could lead some to believe the Braves are already looking ahead to the sectional championship on Nov. 4.

Not Szabo. Not this team.

“We know they’re a good team, they’ve got a ton of athletes like South Spencer does,” DuPont said. “We just gotta go out and play, just another game. (We) can’t overlook them”

Tecumseh’s last perfect regular season was in 2008, but the Braves lost in the opening round of the sectional to Linton-Stockton.

Szabo and his players are taking it one game at a time. This fall has given the Braves something to build upon for the future.

“It’s unreal. We all noticed that we’ve done something that not every team gets to do,” Jones said. “It’s almost like I can’t speak. Everybody’s proud, everybody’s congratulating you. You just want to keep pushing yourself to get better and not lose.”

The Braves faced adversity and still got the job done. That’s what builds a team and culture. And they cheered after the win, but it was a short celebration. All focus was shifted to preparing for the next game after a close call.

“We fight for each other so much that we were never going to let down, we were never going to quit,” Szabo said. “We didn’t panic.”

When it was all said and done, Tecumseh kneeled on the northeast goal line. Szabo greeted his team with a simple, shouted message:

“How ‘bout them Braves?”

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Indiana high school football: Tecumseh holds off South Spencer