Huge 1st keys Jay

A week later, the Patriots were the team that ran out to a massive early lead.

On the heels of last week's 42-0 halftime deficit in a loss to Delta, Jay County High School's football team wasted no time in burying the Blackford Bruins in an inescapable hole. The Patriots scored all four times they touched the ball in the first quarter, rolling out to a 28-0 lead on the way to a 43-13 victory in their home opener.

"It was a great first quarter, one of the best first quarters I've seen in a while," said JCHS coach Shane Hill, who said his only wish was that his team could have kept that momentum in the second quarter. "I'm ecstatic, but that would have pushed me over the edge even more."

The Patriots (1-1) set the tone with their opening drive, a five-minute march down the field that saw them pick four first downs. Michael Daniels carried the load, including the 12-yard touchdown run, and quarterback Zach Cash also completed two passes and had a 13-yard run.

The other three Jay County scores in the opening period all came in rapid-fire fashion.

After Blackford (0-2) went three-and-out on its first drive, Ben Vance returned the punt 47 yards. Two plays later Daniels scored on a 28-yard run.

On their next drive the Bruins were in position to cut their deficit in half following a 40-yard pass from Evan West to Jordan Daily, but Adam Coats put the game away on the next play.

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The senior cornerback picked off a pass from West, flew up the visiting sideline and dodged a tackle attempt by Matt Lillard at the 20-yard line on his 90-yard return for a touchdown.

"Protection broke down. Our quarterback didn't set his feet," said Blackford coach Eric Davis.. "Bad things happen when the little things don't get worked out.

"With us being as young as we are ... the focus in our practice week, the focus on the little details, is crucial to the remainder of our season. ... We just got beat out of the gate. We've got to find a way not to self-destruct. ... We've got to do the little things right. That's where it has to start for us.

"I like (the Patriots') physicality. I think they brought it, and I think that they started out of the gate and they got after us."

Jay County forced another Blackford punt with 1:22 left in the quarter, and Cash promptly connected on a 45-yard pass with Patrick Williams to open the ensuing drive. That play led to a Cash TD pass to Ben Vance, who scored the lone touchdown in the Patriots' season-opener against Delta.

Daniels added a third touchdown in the third quarter as he finished with 18 carries for 127 yards. Cash completed just 3-of-16 passes in his first start at quarterback, but bounced back against the Bruins to finish 7-of-11 for 82 yards.

"We have the ability to move the chains," said Hill of the opening drive. "And that's really going to help our defense ... because now they're getting more time off the field. ... I liked scoring in bunches last year, but I'll take chunks and moving the chains and grinding the clock too.

"We knew we could run the ball. Play-action pass is going to be huge. If (Cash) can connect on those play-action passes that's going to be a big weapon for him."

After a scoreless second quarter, Daniels' TD run in the third pushed the JCHS lead to 35-0 before the Bruins finally got on the board. Chris McGahey's 2-yard run ended a 10-quarter scoreless streak for Blackford, which lost 42-0 to Eastbrook in the 2008 sectional and 28-0 to Adams Central to open the 2009 campaign.

Davis said getting into the end zone was something to build on, but the Patriots didn't give Blackford long to celebrate.

Following McGahey's score, Williams received the kickoff at the 13-yard line and broke several tackles between the 30 and 40. He then cut right and ran down the home sideline as his teammates cheered him on to an 87-yard TD return.

Hill was thrilled that his team was able to score on offense, defense and special teams.

"To put them all three together, that's amazing," he said. "That shows the type of effort and mental focus that our kids are putting in because they realize that every facet of our game is important. I'm real happy that occurred tonight."

Blackford out-gained the Patriots 274-213 in total yardage, but averaged less than three yards per carry in the first half as it struggled to move the ball against the JCHS first-team defense. Ben Townsend paced the Bruins with 97 yards rushing on 10 carries, and McGahey ran 13 times for 51 yards.

Hill said he was proud of the defense's first-half shutout, which was led by Dillon Easton and Jacob Coffman. Both finished the game with seven tackles.

"They executed tonight," said Hill. "My hats off to the kids. ... It was an excellent effort by our defense tonight."[[In-content Ad]]