Happy homecoming

On their first offensive drive, the Patriots gained more yards than they had in either of the previous two games.
They had 10 plays go for more than 10 yards, including three plays of 40 or more.
And they scored nearly as many points as they had the entire season.
Jay County High School’s homecoming game was a rousing success, as the home team rolled to a 38-6 victory over the winless Connersville Spartans.
“One-play drives are nice,” said JCHS coach Steve Boozier after his team scored on four drives of four plays or fewer, including a one-play drive on a 51-yard run by Blake Crouch to open the second half. “We thought we saw some things on film we could take advantage of, and we did. We ran some of the exact same plays South Dearborn did against them.
“Our runners have been running hard all year. But now we’ve got some blocking going on. The kids did a nice job. It all finally fell together tonight. We’re happy about that.”
The Patriots (2-4) had some minor miscues, including a muffed punt early in the first quarter, but for the most part they were in control. Connersville drove the ball to the JCHS 7-yard line after getting the second chance, but the defense stood tall.
Jay County was in the end zone just three plays later thanks to a 33-yard pass from Brock McFarland to homecoming king Zach Cash and runs of 20 and 49 yards by Cade Price.
“We called that timeout and went out there and said, ‘Let’s make a positive out of a negative. Let’s stop them and then turn around and make a nice drive out of it,’” said Boozier. “And that’s exactly what we did. …
“It was a three-play drive, and the next thing you know we’re in the end zone.”
Blake Crouch finished off a four-play drive with a 55-yard TD run in the second quarter, sending the Patriots into the locker room with a 13-0 lead.
The Spartans attempted an onside kick to start the second half, but Jay County recovered it and immediately handed the ball back to Crouch. He broke through the ride side and charged to the end zone, giving up scoring runs of 55 and 51 yards on consecutive offensive plays by the Patriots.
Crouch added a 1-yard scoring dive about five minutes later to extend the lead to 27-0 before Connersville (0-6) got on the board with 54 seconds left in the third quarter. He finished with 140 yards on just eight carries.
Price ran 11 times for 119 yards, 85 of which came on his first three rushes of the game. He scored two touchdowns, and Jay County also recorded a pair of safeties in the fourth quarter.
After being held to fewer than 100 yards of total offense in each their previous two games, the Patriots racked up 330 yards against Connersville. Their 38 points were just one short of their total from the first five games of the season combined.
“We’ve had a three game slide and we were able to right the ship here in front of the homecoming crowd,” said Boozier, a 1985 graduate of JCHS. “It’s great to look up and see the stadium packed. It was a great situation. I’m glad the kids were able to perform so well in front of that crowd.”
Connersville finished with 172 yards of offense, most of which came on two drives. It’s first drive of the game went 73 yards before stalling out, and the scoring drive in the third quarter covered 67 yards.
Blake Evans led the Spartans with 82 yards on 14 carries, and Matthew Gardner added 52 yards.
First-year Connersville coach Mark Kirk expressed frustration about his team’s effort.
“It’s the same darn thing every week,” he said. “We started out the game, we had a great drive going, and what happened? Penalties. … It killed the drive.
“It happens to us every week. I mean every week.”
Kirk also said he wasn’t surprised the Patriots were able to move the ball with such success against his defense.
“It’s been going on all year,” said Kirk, whose team has allowed at least 34 points in each of its six games. “It is what it is.
“We need to tackle better. We need to block better. We need to run. We need to catch.”
Jay County also tried an unusual play in the game, opting for a free kick late in the first half after making a fair catch on a Connersville punt. Boozier said although the 55-yard kick into the wind was a long shot at best, he wanted to give his team a chance to run the play in a game situation in case it is something they need to do down the road.[[In-content Ad]]