By Kye Berger
Thirty-two quarters, roughly 60 possessions, 500-plus snaps over nine straight games with no turnovers as a first-year starting quarterback.
“It’s always tough stepping into a varsity position after playing on Mondays (as a JV player),” football head coach Chris Overholt said. “The speed of the game Is so much faster.”
That’s what makes this next stat so special,
“Bronson didn’t have a turnover from week three until week 12 for us last year, which is really impressive for a first-year starter,” Overholt said, referring to senior QB1 Bronson Edwards.
He has just started the last football season of his high school career.
Bronson stands at 6-foot-3, 180 pounds and is a left handed quarterback. He has a chip on his shoulder, with it being his last chance. A year ago, he led the Eagles to regionals, losing to the defending state champions Bishop Chatard, which had a perfect 15-0 season.
Bronson always dreamed of playing varsity football as a kid while watching his brothers, Brady and Braxton, under the lights along with his father, longtime assistant coach Dave Edwards. Now he’s doing it.
It wasn’t an easy road to get there.
Last year, Bronson had to split snaps during summer workouts with a senior, Kaiden Bond, for the position.
In the end coaches decided Bronson was the right fit for the position, moving Bond to tailback.
In his first start as quarterback his junior season, he said he wasn’t expecting it to be as difficult as it turned out to be.
Shortly afterward he found out how truly demanding the role of varsity QB1 is.
In his first half as the starting quarterback he threw two interceptions.
He recalls stepping in the locker room at halftime and thinking about how much work he still had to do before he was satisfied.
“It was a big wake-up call for me. I knew what I had to improve on and I worked on it with coach (Billy) Lynch at practices,” Bronson said.
Bronson finished that season throwing only four more interceptions in 12 games and was able to lead the Eagles to the regional championship game.
Bronson has put in work between then and now with coach Lynch.
Lynch is the coach for quarterbacks and helps with some offensive plays and drills. Lynch went to Delta High School and was a three-sport athlete. Lynch managed to receive a sports scholarship for basketball and football to play at Ball State University.
After his college years he went on and coached several NCAA Division 1 college football teams. Lynch coached at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio for three seasons, Indiana University in Bloomington for six seasons, and Rice University in Houston, Texas, for seven seasons.
Now he is a key contributor for helping Bronson become better.
With a full season of experience at the varsity level, Bronson is playing this season knowing what to expect.
“I’m smart, and I stay calm really well,” Bronson said.
The team is off to a 3-0 start and Bronson has been efficient so far.
He has thrown for 490 yards and seven touchdowns in the first three games with two turnovers.
“Bronson’s overall knowledge for the game is like no other,” Overholt said. “I mean he understands the game at the same level as a coach does. So it’s a big benefit for us to have a player/coach on the field at all times within the offense.”
Bronson isn’t your typical leader. Overholt said he is more of a stoic, quiet leader, “but when he does speak up people listen.”
Overholt believes Bronson’s work ethic in the weight room and on the field earns his teammates’ respect alone.
“We can always count on him to be a good practice player and go his hardest which rubs off on other players as well,” Overholt said. “I think they have a lot of respect for him in terms of his work ethic and his understanding of the offense.”
Bronson said some traits that help him stand out on the field are his patience, his IQ of the game, and his ability to remain humble in big or small moments.
Overholt added on by talking about Bronson’s short memory, which is a good trait for the role of quarterback.
“If he goes out there and does something he doesn’t like, he usually doesn’t repeat his mistakes,” Overholt said. “And he just has a lot of confidence in his ability and his teammates, which is a good quality to have.”
The Eagles kicked off their season vs. Muncie Central. Bronson showed off his confidence and ability throwing for four touchdown passes, leading the team to a 28-7 victory.
They have now gone undefeated through three games with a shutout vs. Norwell 35-0 and then beating Shelbyville 37-7.
Bronson has thrown for seven TD’s in the three games, including two scoring strikes to senior wide receiver and close friend Cooper Bratton.
Bratton and Bronson have been best friends since kindergarten.
The two dreamed of playing under the lights together since they were kids.
“We were ball boys together, so we always got to be on the sidelines together on Friday nights, so it’s just something we’ve always wanted to be a part of,” Bratton said.
He said all this time together has formed a bond that gives him full trust in Bronson’s game.
“I know he will make the right play every time,” Bratton said. “I mean obviously he had a really good year last year. He should’ve been all-conference but wasn’t. He for sure will be this year.”
It is a dream come true for the two to be able to play together on varsity.
Now it is their last season together and although there are some sad thoughts because it’s their last time playing together, he is cherishing the time they have left and is excited to see how their last ride as Eagles plays out.
Bratton is proud of his best friend for coming all this way.
But how far will Bronson go is the question. He doesn’t have any specific plans on playing in college. He said he is always working to play somewhere, and if he gets the opportunity to play at the collegiate level he’ll take it.
There has been many hours put in out on the field and in the weight room to be in the position that it could be an option for him.
Without his coaches, Bronson doesn’t believe he would be in the spot he is in today.
“Coach Lynch and Coach Conley have helped me a lot,” Bronson said. “It’s really cool because not every quarterback can say they’ve had a coach comparable to them.”
Coach Shane Conley helps in all areas. He coaches anywhere from quarterbacks to defense.
In the off season, Bronson put in a lot of work with coach Lynch.
He said they worked on little details to make him a successful quarterback. They repeated multiple drills for throwing and footwork.
“We constantly would work on drills until I had them right,” Bronson said.
All this work has brought Bronson a certain confidence to his game.
“You just have to be confident. You can’t let pressure affect you, you just can’t,” he said. “I feel like I have a good team around me which helps me stay calm, and that alone takes a lot of pressure off of me, making it a lot easier to perform.”
