MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week: Brownsburg football

It's all about the rebound for the Brownsburg football team.

Last season the Bulldogs went 3-7 following four superb seasons when they had gone a combined 34-11, including back-to-back nine win seasons starting in 2011.

So, when Brownsburg opened 2014 with a humbling 59-19 defeat to Pike, the Bulldogs could have taken the attitude "here we go again."

Instead, they've gained more determination and rattled off a pair of impressive victories, including a 34-27 win last week at Franklin Community after they fell behind 14-0.

It's all about the comeback.

"Our kids did indeed come back strong after our opening game loss," said head coach Brett Comer. "This year’s group has also used the word 'family' more than any group we have coached in a number of years. They did rally together to secure a win over Lawrence North and then Franklin. ... We also stressed that the Pike game was indeed just one game and we will learn from our mistakes and take the lesson from that night forward."

For their comeback prowess, the Bulldogs have been selected as the MaxPreps Indiana Team of the Week, presented by the Indiana Army National Guard.

Talented 6-foot, 200-pound junior tailback Toks Akinribade, behind some superb blocking, rushed for a career-high 351 yards and four touchdowns. He now has 683 yards on the season on just 66 carries (10.3 average), which ranks him third in the state.

Akinribade also had a big game in a 28-14 win over Lawrence North with 23 carries, 227 yards and three touchdowns.

"Toks obviously means a lot to our team. He is a very good player and has experience even though he is only a junior," said Comer. "He had rushed for over 2,000 yards during his freshman and sophomore years and is leaned on heavily by his team to continue to make plays on the field. He is growing as a leader and is learning how to be a more vocal member of our team.

"Right now he leads more by example both on the field and in the weight room. His ability to cut and accelerate make him very difficult to tackle and when kids do get their hands on him he is a very strong kid who can run through arm tackles."

Senior 6-2, 187-pound quarterback Hunter Johnson also had a fine outing against Franklin Community, completing 8-of-13 for 113 yards. This came after he was 10 of 13 for 106 yards and another score versus Lawrence North.

Johnson's favorite receiver all year has been Tyler Kirtz, who has nine catches for 134 yards and all three touchdowns.
The Bulldogs are led defensively by 5-11, 180-pound senior linebacker Seth Bronger (13.5 tackles per game). He's had plenty of support from senior Brad Guilinger (9.0) and Michael McCoy (9.0).

Comer has been the coach since at least 2004 and during that time, the Bulldogs have had to fight back several times.

Before their four seasons of winning, they had struggled somewhat with a combined five-year run of 20-31. But all that changed in 2009 when Brownsburg went 9-4 behind a rugged defense and a balanced running attack led by Darryl Jordan and quarterback Robby Robbins, who each rushed for 11 touchdowns.

"During our leadership academy in May we tried to identify our reasons for losing the previous year," said Comer. "We actually wrote them down on poster boards and then prior to our first practice of the year burned them in the middle of our field as our seniors spoke about how they would avoid the same pitfalls and what they would do this season to be successful.

"One of our sayings is that 'old guys teach young guys and young guys grow up to do the same,' and our kids are following the idea well. We also took our seniors on a canoeing trip to help build team bonding."

The Bulldogs hope to continue their winning ways Friday at home against Avon (2-1), which defeated Brownsburg 41-13 at home.

Staff writer Kirstin Beal contributed to this report.