09/12/2026
BY JACK BULLOCK
ELDORADO - Johnston City head coach Marshall Mummert never likes looking too far into the future when discussing his football team.

He prefers to concentrate on the game at hand, week to week.

When he goes back and looks at the video of the Indians' win on Saturday, he shouldn't have too much to critique.

The Tribe put on an offensive rushing show at Eldorado and the defensive effort was even more impressive.

Eleven different ball-carriers rushed 48 times for 392-yards with four rushing touchdowns and Johnston City allowed only 59-yards on 24 running plays and zero passing yards in the 44-0 beat-down of the Eagles.

The home team didn't cross midfield until the fourth quarter when the outcome was no longer in doubt.

Eldorado head coach Joe Clark's club will head back to the drawing board after an 0-4 beginning to 2026.

“Our kids played well, I think. We never say too much until we see the film,” said Coach Mummert. “I'm sure there were mistakes made but, yeah, we made several stops and we're happy about that.”

The victory by Johnston City was the 22nd consecutive Black Diamond Conference triumph dating back to October of 2023.

Of the near 50 rushing attempts, no player had more than six.

Yardage-wise the top runner was sophomore Andrew Brown, who carried the ball five times for 61-yards and a touchdown.

He also caught the only touchdown pass from senior QB Bryson Long.

Long completed 3-of-7 passes for 88-yards and the single scoring strike to Brown.

Junior Max Etherton added five-attempts for 51-yards for JC.

Sophomore back Drake Morris scored a pair of second half touchdowns, rushing eight-times for 40-yards in the process.

Of his six rushes for 30-yards, junior running back Trenton Basenberg added a touchdown run, a three-yard blast up the middle, to give the Indians a first quarter lead at 8-0.

The top runner for Eldorado on the day was sophomore Easton Cummins, who finished with 31-yards on 10 attempts while junior quarterback Clayton Hendrix had 16-yards on six tries.

Neither of which added up to much success for the host team on Saturday.

The Basenberg score capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive.

Although they're mostly a run-first, pass-second team, Johnston City proved they could go to the air when needed.

Facing a fourth-and-nine from the Eldorado 38, Long hit Brown with a screen pass that resulted in a 23-yard gain up the left sideline.

Basenberg scored on a first-and-goal to complete the scoring march and the junior back added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 advantage at the 2:24 mark.

The defensive effort on the day by the Tribe was outstanding.

Eldorado picked up a single first down on its opening drive but didn't produce another one until their first possession of the third quarter on a Johnston City penalty.

Offensively the Indians did what they wanted for most of the day.

Their second score came on a fourth-and-one from the Eldorado 27.

Brown took a hand-off from Long, broke through the initial Eagles' defensive surge, and sprinted to the endzone.

The two-point conversion failed but JC led 14-0 with 6:48 remaining in the second quarter.

The run closed an 11-play, 74-yard drive.

After forcing another Eldorado punt, the Indians quickly added to their lead.

The next score came on a pass play from Long to Brown, this time covering 49-yards.

Long and Brown hooked up on a two-point conversion pass for a 22-0 advantage.

“We have the ability to (pass) but we just don't do it that often,” said Coach Mummert. “It's not really what we do. We want to hold onto the ball, chew up field and chew up clock. Make it a shorter ballgame. We made some completions when we needed to today.”