Spartans blank Patriots

CONNERSVILLE — Stunned.
It’s that simple. The Patriots were stunned.
A Jay County High School football team that hoped to ruin the host Spartans homecoming and walk away with its third straight victory came away with a much different result.
Previously-winless Connersville dominated the game up front, broke a scoreless tie with 8:09 left in the game and earned its first victory in two seasons 14-0 over the Patriots.
“We just didn’t get it done,” said JCHS coach Steve Boozer, who indicated he felt his team overlooked the Spartans. “I think as a team we were watching film and I don’t think we took film quite as serious as we usually do.
“You’ve got to congratulate Connersville. They did what they were supposed to do.”
The Spartans (1-5) were able to halt a 19-game losing streak because of their strong effort in the trenches. They had out-gained JCHS 153-28 at halftime and eventually wore the visitors down after three scoreless quarters.
Connersville took the ball late in the third quarter, and after a couple of productive runs by quarterback Brady Hertel it started pounding up the middle with sophomore running back Dakota Ervin.
Seeing his first action this year after missing the first five games because of academic ineligibility, Ervin carried six times on the 12-play drive and scored on a 3-yard run with 8:09 remaining.
“He’s a super kid — works really, really hard in the offseason,” said second-year CHS coach Mark Kirk after his first victory with the team.
“He really put in an effort.”
A 34-yard kickoff return by Blake Crouch put the Patriots’ in position for a drive of their own, but Connersville forced a turnover on a fumble five plays later to get the ball back.
And it put the game away on a gutsy fourth-and-9 call from the JCHS 39-yard line as Shay Shirkey juggled a pass from Brady Hertel three times before catching it along the right sideline and taking it to the end zone for a 39-yard touchdown.
The scoring pass was the aberration in a game in which Connersville gained 195 yards on the ground while limiting the Patriots to just 40 on 31 carries. Of Jay County’s 31 carries, 14 went for zero or negative yards.
“Our kids play really hard,” said Kirk. “We’ve got some strong kids up front. They sure spend a lot of time in the weight room.”
The Patriots (4-2) didn’t make it into Connersville territory until the Crouch return in the fourth quarter as they gained just 65 yards for the game.
The Spartans went 0-10 last season and had not won a game since knocking off Jay County 37-36 in 2009, but Kirk still said he was confident heading into the homecoming contest.
“I told the faculty, I said, ‘We’re going to win,’” Kirk said. “And they kind of just winked at me. And I said, ‘No, we’re going to win.’
“It’s been a long time.
“The kids are excited. I’m excited.”
Connersville had allowed an average of 50 points per game through its first five before blanking the Patriots. It was the second time JCHS has been shut out this season, along with the 55-0 opening defeat to Delta that later became a victory by way of forfeit.
“Whether things go your way or they don’t go your way comes down to blocking, tackling, playing special teams,” said Boozier. “We didn’t block very well.
“It was just the fact we couldn’t get the ball moving. ...
“They dominated us (up front) on both sides of the ball.”
Crouch led Jay County with 48 yards on 11 carries, but was knocked out of the game on the fourth-quarter fumble. He suffered a neck injury and the game was delayed for 15 minutes as he was taken off the field on a stretcher, but he was able to move his arms and legs while on the field.
Boozier reported at about 11:30 p.m. Friday that Crouch had been released from the hospital. He said the junior suffered whiplash and would need to spend a few days wearing a neck brace, but was otherwise OK.[[In-content Ad]]