Golden Eagles Complete Undefeated Regular Season for First Time Since 2018
A 10-0 regular season didn’t come easy for the Bellbrook Golden Eagles on Friday night at Bellbrook Stadium, but it did come.
The Golden Eagles used four Jack Kosins touchdowns Friday night – two in each half – to shut down a pesky Ross Rams team, 35-0 to claim the Southwestern Buckeye League, Southwestern Division title. While Ross finished its season, Bellbrook gets a week off before continuing into the Division III, Region 12 playoffs.
“This week was kind of strange, we had a lot of pressure on us and we just tried to focus on us and how we approach our jobs,” coach Jeff Jenkins said. This is the first time the Golden Eagles (10-0, 4-0) have been undefeated since 2018.
“We have a day-to-day approach, we’re just trying to get better one day at a time and then you know, when Friday comes, hopefully we put enough days together that we ready to battle and go out there and win.”
The team has certainly done that throughout the season, and it begins with a defense that posted its third shutout this year.
The tone setter on this night was Sebastian Pinger. On the second play of the game, Pinger stuck his helmet into Ross quarterback Grayson Huff’s chest, which resulted in the signal caller needing to leave the field for a few plays. From that point, the die was cast and the defense led the way.
“It’s just really all the teammates around me,” Pinger said. “We play Nasty Type football, everyone on the team knows the motto. It’s how we play.”
Nasty indeed.
Not only have the Golden Eagles posted three shutouts, but they have held four other opponents to seven points or less. That’s the best mark in the Southwestern Buckeye League by 40 points coming into Friday night.
“As a team we just know we can’t let up,” Pinger said. “Last week we let up a little bit and we knew that wasn’t going to be the case tonight.”
“This defense is unreal,” Jenkins said. “I love this defense. They’re fast, they’re physical. They’re nasty.”
And then there was the offense. While scoring was light in the first half, Kosins ran for a pair of long touchdowns, 55 yards on the first drive and 29 yards in the second quarter to make the halftime lead 14-0, as brother Noah Kosins hit both PATs.
The Bellbrook offense struggled at times throughout the first half, but JT Frantz caught a huge pass to get them back on track with a perfectly executed out and up from Grant Diorio on third-and-19, which led to Kosins second score.
“We see that play every day in practice, he just goes up there and makes crazy catches,” Kosins said of Frantz. “We know we can put our trust in him in that third-and-long situation.”
All of Diorio’s passes were on the mark in the first half, but a few went in and out of the hands of receivers. That and a fumble midway through the second quarter was costly and slowed the Golden Eagle momentum.
A wide open Eli Edwards caught a 36-yard TD pass with 2:17 left in the third quarter to cap a decent drive after the defense once again thwarted a pesky Ross offense to make it 21-0.
Kosins got his third score, this time from 53 yards on a pass from Diorio with 26 seconds left in the third quarter, to make it 28-0.
“The offensive line is just amazing,” Kosins said. “That first touchdown I was untouched so that was great. They’re just always making it easy for me.”
The momentum was squarely in the Golden Eagles favor when Jayce Spencer recovered a fumble and returned it to the Ross 31at the start of the fourth quarter. The Golden Eagles turned that into the fourth score of the night from Kosins, this time from 13 yards away, to close out a perfect regular season.
But work remains.
Bellbrook has claimed the No. 1 seed in their region and a first-round bye. The Golden Eagles were ranked No. 1 in the state for the last few weeks in Division III. They will face the winner of the No. 8 vs. No. 9 seeded teams in the region at home Nov. 6.