Jay blanked

MUNCIE — On the third play of the game, the Patriots forced a fumble and recovered the ball.
But four plays later they had a punt blocked, and it was downhill from there.
While visiting Jay County did put up a stronger fight against the Delta Eagles than it had on its home field a year ago, the result on the scoreboard was still much the same. The Patriots walked away with a 55-0 defeat.
“A year ago tonight we were stunned, devastated. We were just worried about picking up pieces,” said JCHS coach Steve Boozier, whose team gave up 58 first-half points to the Eagles last season. “Tonight, I apologized to the defense. We had them on that field all night long. The offense put them in horrendous positions …
“Defensively, you can’t ask for more out of those kids. We put them in an un-winnable situation because we couldn’t move the ball on offense.”
Even after Delta got the ball following the blocked punt, its first two plays netted negative-6 yards. But Ozzie Man hit Jake Greenberg with a 19-yard pass to keep the drive alive on their down.
Delta was in the end zone two plays later when Mann tossed a 10-yard pass that squeaked through cornerback Brock McFarland’s hands and into the waiting arms of Jalen Robinson.
The Eagles needed just one play on their next drive, which again followed a partially-blocked punt, as Landon Lambert recorded a 36-yard touchdown scamper around the right side.
Jay County managed to sack Mann three times in the first quarter, and six for the game, but Delta responded by going to a quick-passing attack. The Eagles scored two more TDs in the second quarter for a 28-0 halftime lead as Mann went 15-of-19 for 144 yards before the intermission.
“They were bringing a lot of heat so we had some pass protection problems early that I thought we got corrected a little bit,” said Delta coach Grant Zgunda, whose team has now racked up 21 straight wins over the Patriots. “We tried to shorten it up and tried to max protect a little bit more, keep one of our wing backs in rather than sending both out. It helped a little bit.”
Delta went mostly to the ground game in the third quarter, with Austin Fuatavai scoring twice on 24-yard runs. He tallied 109 yards on just 10 carries as the Eagles racked up more than 400 yards of total offense.
The Patriots, on the other hand, struggled to make anything happen when they had the ball in their hands.
The recorded just three first downs in the game, and the varsity players had just 28 yards of total offense. Jay County also put the ball on the ground 12 times, losing four of those fumbles.
Chase Louck, who entered the game when both teams made wholesale substitutions in the fourth quarter, finished as the leading JCHS rusher with three carries for seven years. In his first game at starting quarterback, Tyler Back competed three passes for 27 yards.
Despite the staggering numbers in Delta’s favor, both coaches still agreed the Patriots have taken a step forward since last season.
“I think Jay County is better than they were last year obviously,” said Zgunda. “They battled. Those guys fought for three quarters, and that wasn’t the case last year. It was a lot tougher for us ... I can tell they’re going in the right direction.”
Said Boozier: “There was a huge difference. We were competitive in more aspects of the game. We weren’t competitive in any aspects of the football game last year. We were competitive tonight. We were getting them in third- and fourth-and-long. Defensively we were competitive.
“Offensively we weren’t. … We came in with the simplest game plan that I’ve had in 20-some years. We thought we could execute it. … It just did not get done.”[[In-content Ad]]