Jay Co. eyes deep playoff run

High school football teams are remembered for how they play in late October, and, even more, November.
Late-fall football can be rough on fans, with temperatures continuing to fall. But it’s also the time they want to see their teams playing the most, because it means tournament success.
“We talk about playing in November,” said Jay County High School coach Tim Millspaugh. “That’s a big deal. We want to play football in November. It gives you a chance to compete for a sectional championship. If you’re able to win that, you’re top eight in the state.”
It’s been a while since the Patriots have had the privilege.
Jay County has not won a sectional game in the last five seasons. Its last victory in the tournament came in the 2007 sectional finale when it topped Muncie Southside 34-21 for the only championship in school history.
The Patriots didn’t come close the next four seasons, losing every tournament opener in that stretch by double digits. They nearly broke through a year ago, coming up just short in a 42-20 loss to a Bishop Dwenger squad that went on to win the sectional title.
JCHS had a chance to tie Bishop Dwenger with 3:17 to play, but a two-point conversion attempt failed. And in the final minutes the Patriots just missed recovering a fumble that could have given them the opportunity to win.
They’re hoping to come out on top Friday against Marion to earn a November football game for just the third time in the last 20 years. And Millspaugh is trying to get his team in the right mindset for tournament play.
“In playoff football you have to deal more with the tension, the nervousness, simply because it’s a one-game playoff,” he said. “Especially with seniors, sometimes I think that gets in their heads. …
“That’s one of the biggest concerns I have is making sure we’re not tight.”
Jay County’s regular season should have it well-prepared for postseason play.
Each of the last five Patriot games have come down to the final quarter. They held on for wins against Muncie Southside (14-7) and Winchester (36-29), and rallied from a nine-point deficit to knock off Heritage (32-27).
They lost their other two games down the stretch, but were within one score of both Connersville and Guerin Catholic heading into the final period.
Their week-three win over Wallaceburg was also decided by a single possession.
So they’re used to playing the kind of hotly-contested, intense games that are typical of the playoffs.
“That’s kind of how we win,” said Millspaugh. “What we’re trying to do on both sides of the ball is get into fourth-quarter games … and give ourselves a chance to win. I think any time you’re able to pull those games out in the regular season, it creates a mentality that you expect to win … I think that will bode well for us.”
Millspaugh especially noted the importance of the game against Guerin Catholic, despite the outcome.
The Golden Eagles came to Jay County with just one win, but they also play one of the stronger schedules in the state. They lost games this year to perennial Class 2A power Lafayette Central Catholic, which is 8-1, Ohio’s Kettering Alter (7-1), Martinsville (7-2), Brebeuf (6-3) and Chatard (6-3).
“To be able to compete against a team like that — going into the fourth quarter it was a one-point game — while it was disappointing that we didn’t pull it out, that’s the type of game that we need late in the year to really give yourself a gauge of where you’re at going into the tournament,” Millspaugh said. “Even though we lost … I think that helps us a lot.”
Still, a loss is a loss, and the mood in the locker room following the regular-season finale was somewhat somber. But, Millspaugh said, senior Keenan James stood up and put the Patriots back in the right frame of mind.
“He said, ‘This is not our last game. … We’re not getting upset and feeling sorry for ourselves because we lost this game. We’ve got a lot to play for in the tournament. We’re going to go deep into the tournament,’” Millspaugh said. “I think they feel good about themselves and I think they believe that we can take this thing deep into the tournament. I definitely think there’s a lot of excitement …”
There has been a lot to be excited about this season already.
Jay County won four games in a row for the first time since 2007.
It posted its first winning season since that sectional-championship year.
And it went 5-1 at Harold E. Schutz Memorial Stadium.
Hopefully there’s more fun on the way in the coming weeks.
It’s time for the Patriots to make some memories.[[In-content Ad]]