Brady Golliday’s Impressive Start Has Indian Lake Looking to Respond After a Tough Loss to Allen East
The Indian Lake Lakers have already experienced plenty of highs and lows through the opening three weeks of the 2026 football season.
After beginning the year with impressive victories over Lima Bath and Fairbanks, the Lakers suffered their first setback in a 32–14 road loss to undefeated Allen East. Indian Lake now sits at 2–1 with another opportunity to prove itself when it travels to face London on Friday night.
Despite the loss, senior quarterback Brady Golliday has been one of the biggest early-season stories for the Lakers. His combination of passing ability, physical running and leadership has helped Indian Lake produce one of the area’s most exciting offenses.
A Remarkable Start for Brady Golliday
The 6-foot-2, 215-pound quarterback opened the season with an outstanding all-around performance in Indian Lake’s 54–43 victory over Lima Bath.
Golliday completed 18 of 24 passes for 265 yards and four touchdowns. He was equally dangerous on the ground, rushing for 162 yards and three additional scores.
That gave him 427 total yards and seven touchdowns in the season opener.
Golliday followed that performance with another highly efficient game during Indian Lake’s 40–7 road victory over Fairbanks. He completed 14 of 17 passes for 261 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions as the Lakers took control early and never looked back.
Across those first two victories, Golliday completed 32 of 41 passes for 526 yards and nine touchdowns. He demonstrated the ability to attack defenses from the pocket, extend plays with his legs and take advantage of opportunities down the field.
His combination of size, arm strength, mobility and production has helped him attract attention from leading college programs throughout Ohio and across the Midwest. Golliday is receiving looks from schools at multiple levels as coaches continue evaluating his ability to throw from the pocket, create plays outside the original design and lead a productive offense.
No formal offer list was publicly verifiable at the time of publication, but Golliday’s early-season performances have strengthened his recruiting résumé and given college programs plenty of reasons to continue following him.
Indian Lake’s offense encountered more resistance against Allen East, but Golliday continued competing and used his legs to keep drives alive. The Lakers moved the football at different points in the game, but costly turnovers ended multiple scoring opportunities and helped Allen East pull away.
The defeat does not erase what Golliday and the Lakers accomplished during the opening two weeks. It provides the team with an opportunity to learn, make adjustments and show how it responds to adversity.
More Than a One-Player Offense
Golliday directs the offense, but Indian Lake’s early success has been supported by several talented playmakers.
Junior running back Dawson Stevenson has given the Lakers an important source of balance. He rushed for 149 yards on 20 carries against Bath before adding 110 yards on only 10 attempts against Fairbanks.
Stevenson’s production makes it more difficult for defenses to focus entirely on Golliday and the passing game.
Senior wide receiver Brodey Reisinger has also emerged as one of Golliday’s most dependable targets. The 6-foot-3, 200-pound receiver caught five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns in the victory over Fairbanks.
Junior Braden Tussing made an immediate impact in the season opener, catching three passes for 85 yards and two touchdowns against Bath.
Senior Colin Bendler gives Indian Lake another experienced and versatile option at 6-foot-4 and 199 pounds. The Lakers are also developing additional depth with players such as JJ Shirk, Blake Sell, Cohen Brown, Nixon Lillard and Reed Strayer.
That collection of skill players gives Golliday several options and allows Indian Lake to challenge defenses in different ways.
The Offensive Line Remains Essential
Indian Lake’s early offensive production has also depended on the work being done up front.
Players such as Aaron Rapp, Lane Kipker, Emerson Snapp, Lucas Chamberlin, James Preece and Kyle Goings have been responsible for protecting Golliday and creating running lanes for Stevenson.
Their work may not always appear in the box score, but the Lakers’ ability to produce explosive plays begins with the offensive line. That group will be especially important as Indian Lake moves into the more difficult portion of its schedule.
An Opportunity to Respond at London
Indian Lake’s next challenge comes on the road against a London team that also enters Friday night with a 2–1 record.
The matchup will provide an important measurement of how quickly the Lakers can move forward following their first loss. Indian Lake proved against Bath and Fairbanks that it can score quickly, create explosive plays and win games in different ways.
Against Allen East, the Lakers were reminded that turnovers and missed opportunities can completely change a game against a quality opponent.
Indian Lake’s focus against London will be on protecting the football, establishing Stevenson and the running game, and giving Golliday enough time to distribute the ball to Reisinger, Tussing and the rest of the Lakers’ receivers.
Defensively, the Lakers will need to remain disciplined, limit big plays and prevent London from controlling the pace of the game.
Plenty of Football Still Ahead
One difficult night does not define a team’s season—especially after an impressive 2–0 start that included 94 points in two games.
Indian Lake has already shown that it can win a high-scoring matchup and dominate an opponent on the road. The next step is proving that it can respond when things do not go according to plan.
With an experienced quarterback, several explosive offensive weapons and another major road test directly ahead, the Lakers have an opportunity to turn their first setback into a valuable early-season lesson.
Golliday’s outstanding start has given Indian Lake plenty of reasons for optimism. If the Lakers can protect the football and rediscover the balance that powered their opening victories, they will have an opportunity to regain their momentum Friday night.
Indian Lake at LondonFriday, September 11, 20267 p.m.
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