MARION-Week 8 for this particular game had something special that did not feel like a ordinary football game between two county rivals. You had two teams undefeated and competing for a share, and potentially the entire CIC championship depending on the outcome of their Week 9 contests.
Before the game, a fundraiser was held with all proceeds going to the Lochner family. Joey Lochner-brother of Ole Miss head coach Jeremy Lochner and a 2002 Eastbrook grad-was diagnosed with diagnosed with Oligodendroglioma in 2022 and will be undergoing his second surgery to remove a brain tumor. The turnout was overwhelming as $9,000 were raised in the support of the family.
Back to the game itself. You had a team in Mississinewa riding a 30-game regular season unbeaten streak that dates back to the 2022 season, plus back-to-back CIC titles and Frank-the traveling milk van trophy. You had a team in Eastbrook bouncing back from a 4-6 2024 campaign and knocking the door of achieving their 17th CIC crown.
This time around, Eastbrook (8-0, 6-0 CIC) was the better team in a 35-14 win over Mississinewa. The first quarter started off a little slow for both teams. Throughout the course of the ballgame, Mississinewa (7-1, 5-1 CIC) was never quite in sync offensively, plagued by self-inflicted penalties and communication breakdowns with the offensive play set.
This resulted in numerous punts, and eventually Eastbrook capitalized on a 66-yard touchdown run by Bodie Howell to open the scoring at 7-0. It took great blocking from Eastbrook to open up a huge hole, and Howell read that play like a book and turned on the jets.
Transitioning into the 2nd quarter, Eastbrook picked it up right where they left off with a 22-yard TD run from Howell to extend it to 14-0. Ole Miss did have a holding penalty that wiped off a 43-yard TD run from Ah’Lijah Monday, which that’s won’t be the last time you will hear that. However, Ole Miss eventually found life when Ah’Lijah Monday, doing Ah’Lijah Monday things, ran it into the end zone from 8 yards cut the Eastbrook lead in half.
Following a stagnant Eastbrook offensive drive and a Eastbrook holding penalty during the punt return, Ole Miss was in excellent position from the Eastbrook 36. They made sure they took full advantage of that opportunity on Monday’s second TD of the night-this time from 18 yards out to tie at 14 with 3:14 left in the 2nd.
The following sequences would prove to be immensely beneficial for Eastbrook and gut-wrenching for Ole Miss. Gary Cook’s 33-yard kickoff return sparked Eastbrook with another strong offensive drive capped off by Bodie Howell’s third touchdown from 9 yards out to take a 21-14 lead. Howell finished the game with 26 carries for 210 yards and 3 touchdowns for Eastbrook.
In spite of that, Ole Miss still had 2:14 to garner some type of offense before intermission, and boy did they showed a sense of desperation. The Indians marched all the way down to the 6-yard line and a golden opportunity to tie the game once again.
For a moment, Ah’Lijah Monday and the Indians appeared to have tied the game-until they didn’t. Once again, another offensive holding penalty on Ole Miss; another negated touchdown. To make matters worse, Ole Miss failed to convert as Seth Yoder’s 29-yard field goal attempt sailed wide left before intermission; another golden opportunity gone by the waste side.
It was that moment that gave a sense that maybe this isn’t Mississinewa’s night, and it turned out to be the case. Ole Miss did show some fight in the second half. While Ryder Gipson’s TD extended it to 14, Ole Miss did recover two Eastbrook fumbles in the red zone to give the Indians a chance.
However, Ole Miss never fully recovered from amassing 8 penalties, several scoring droughts, and eventually turned the ball over twice to Eastbrook. The second Ole Miss turnover resulted in a 55-yard return for a pick six for Matt Slater with 1:41 left in the contest.
Eastbrook clinched a share of the CIC for the first time since 2021 and reclaimed Frank, the traveling milk can trophy that was held by Mississinewa. As for the Indians, a historic 30-game regular season unbeaten streak came to an end, and what a run it was.