Brownsburg High School Fills Football Void with ESPN2 Game

The Big Ten said it wasn't safe to play football in the fall, but Indiana high schools are playing, and the Brownsburg Bulldogs are on ESPN2 Saturday night in a nationally televised game.

BROWNSBURG, Ind. — It's Saturday, and there is football today on national television. Feel free to smile.

In the strangest football fall in memory, this is our new normal. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Big Ten has deemed it unsafe to play football this fall, despite having dozens of protocols in place that most everyone seemed comfortable with. The NFL is going to start in two weeks, too, and in Indiana, high school football is in full-go mode, full steam ahead, even though several surrounding states have pushed football to the spring because of the virus.

But Saturday in Brownsburg, this quaint suburb just west of Indianapolis, there will be football, and the ESPN cameras will be there to share it with the world. Brownsburg will take on St. Xavier from Cincinnati at 6 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

• RELATED STORY: Here's the story on Saturday night's game between Brownsburg and St. Xavier, with highlights — and no spoilers. CLICK HERE

For a country starved for football, there will be lots of eyeballs on this game. And for Brownsburg's players – including Indiana commit Joshua Sales, a 6-foot-6, 300-pound offensive lineman who is a big piece of the Hoosiers' current 14-man recruiting class — this is going to be fun.

"It is a big deal, honestly,'' Sales said Friday at the high school. "We're all excited, it's amazing to be playing on ESPN2,  but we still have to stay focused all week and we still have to execute. It's still just another game against a very good team, so we have to go out and play just like we always do, even though we know a lot more people will be watching. That part of it is going to be fun.''

The two teams played a year ago in Cincinnati, with St. Xavier winning 38-17. There's plenty of talent on both teams. Brownsburg has five major-college players on its roster, including Sales, senior quarterback Ben Easters (Kansas commit), wide receiver Preston Terrell (Purdue commit),  offensive linemen Pete Nygra (Northern Illinois commit), and wide receiver Luke Lacey, who has interest from several Ivy League schools.

St. Xavier is led by Penn State committee Liam Clifford. The younger brother of Penn State quarterback Sean Clifford had 77 catches for 1,180 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2019. 

"They've got a very talented team,'' Brownsburg coach John Hart said. "It's definitely going to be a game worth watching.''

It's ESPN in primetime on the last Saturday in August. Football-starved fans will devour this. Big Ten football fans, especially. There's been a lot of teeth-gnashing all month since Big Ten presidents and chancellors decided to cancel the fall season. They had good reasons, they said.

But Indiana high schools are playing, and they have good reasons, too.

This wasn't supposed to work

When Indiana decided to move forward with the high school football season in the middle of pandemic, a lot of people figured this would turn into a nightmare. Unlike professional and college football, which can test players often for the virus, high schools can't do that. 

A few schools around the state have had to cancel games because of positive COVID-19 tests, but at Brownsburg, there haven't been any issues. They too have dozens of protocols in place to keep everyone safe, and so far they're working.

"Brownsburg's a unique place, in my opinion. From the first day our school shut down last March, we have had people already working on what comes next,'' Hart said.  "They have every protocol set in place. For our kids, we have a link where they have to check in every day, and if they had any of those issues, they had to go see a doctor before they were cleared to participate. They have to check all the boxes. 

"We don't use our locker room except to use the restroom and put our girdles on, we keep our distance when we can, we work out in the weight room with masks and in smaller groups. It's all working.''

For now. 

Hart, who's been coaching high school football for 35 years, knows that, too.

"Sure I do. We all do,'' Hart said. "You can do all the right things and still get hit by it like a tornado. We've been very fortunate. We had one kid this summer, really early on before we really got started, who had an issue. His family had it, so we followed all the protocols and it worked like it was supposed to.

"I tell our kids every week, congratulations, we get another week, so be thankful that you get another week. Kids are going to be kids, but we talk a lot about being safe and making good decisions. We do it because they need to know what it might cost them, or their team or their school and community if they make poor choices. And they have all bought in.''

Coaches at every level have talked about dealing with substantial changes during this pandemic. Hart is no different. He too is focused only on the things he can control.

"It's odd, because the best thing about team sports is being together, and now we're not supposed to do that,'' said Hart, who's won state championships at Evansville Reitz (2007) and Warren Central (2009). "That locker room time, we don't have that anymore, and that's unfortunate.

"It's even strange going to games. All these years, it's been about getting on those yellow buses and riding to and from games together. Now, if they want to ride with their parents, they can. It gives us more room to spread out for the ones on the bus. I'm not sure I ever would have thought that would happen.''

Fingers crossed for a full season

Brownsburg is ranked No. 3 in the most recent Associated Press state poll behind Center Grove and Carmel, but they are No. 1 in the state MaxPreps poll. They have state championship aspirations, but a COVID-19 outbreak could be their biggest foe.

"I think we will play a full season, I really do,'' Hart said. "But it's definitely different. In a normal season, you try to build everything to the playoffs. Now, it feels like the playoffs are every week because you just never know if and when it might end. 

"But I do feel good about it. We have things in place, and it's working, and that's with everyone being on the same page, from Gov. (Eric) Holcomb to the health department people to Dr. (Jim) Snapp (Brownsburg's school superintendent) and everyone at our school and the community. We feel like we're doing all the right things and this can work. I haven't seen anything to make me think otherwise yet.''

Hart, who's 58, knows he has a memorable group of kids this year. They have their sights set high. Brownsburg hasn't won a football state championship since going back-to-back in 1985 and 1986.

"That DNA is in this group. We've had good players here, and we've had good records, but this group, they practice and play at a different level than any team I've had here,'' Hart said. "They see the sense of urgency, and they see the new normal, but I think this group is wired differently, too. In my career, we've won a couple of state championships, but these guys haven't. This school hasn't, this community hasn't. I want that — for them. For all of them.

"As you get older, the goals you want to achieve are more for other people than they are for yourself. We have a great opportunity to do something special here this year, and for these players and this community, I want to see that happen, more for them than for me.'' 

So whatever it takes to get this season to the finish line, Hart will do that. So will his players. They are showing people – Big Ten bosses, are you paying attention? — that playing football can work in this environment.

"We are doing all we can,'' he said. "Our athletic department bought a fogger, and we spray our equipment — even the footballs — every day with the disinfectants that were recommended to us. There is no cloth in our locker room. We're fortunate that we have great facilities here, and we can spread out. We're lucky that we just built a huge new cafeteria and the kids can stay distant.''

Magical moment in national spotlight

Hart said he has family all over the country that's looking forward to watching the game on ESPN2. He's also enjoyed the excitement around the school this week, because national television attention is rare in high school football, especially in a place like Brownsburg.

It's rare for high school kids — and their coaches, too — to be in such a national spotlight

"That's something, with ESPN here and Sports Illustrated here and our kids getting all this attention,'' Hart said. "It's nice that they'll get to play on TV, because I know a lot of people are starving to watch football.  

"It's great for our community too, to get this attention. It's not like ESPN shows up on your doorstep every day. It's a special night that everyone will remember for a long time.''

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RELATED: Indiana football recruiting stories

• JOSHUA SALES COMMITS: Three-star offensive lineman Joshua Sales has committed to Indiana over Purdue and Arizona State. CLICK HERE
• JORDAN GRIER COMMITS TO INDIANA: Class of 2021 cornerback Jordan Grier officially committed to Indiana on July 23. Grier is from Ellenwood, Ga. CLICK HERE
• INDIANA NABS 4-STAR RECEIVER; Jacquez Smith, a standout wide receiver from Atlanta, is the highest-ranked recruit for the Hoosiers in nearly 20 years. CLICK HERE