Sectional win is a possibility

Eight seasons. One win.
That’s the Jay County High School football team’s sectional story since claiming its only title.
After beating Muncie Central, New Castle and Muncie Southside en route to the 2007 championship, the Patriots lost their next five sectional games. That’s the second-longest playoff skid in school history, trailing only the seven consecutive first-round losses from 1993 through 1999.
The only opening-round win — a 50-16 drubbing of Marion — in the last eight years came in coach Tim Millspaugh’s first season, 2013. Of the losses, only one game — a 42-40 heartbreaker against Bishop Dwenger — was decided by fewer than 10 points.
Not much to get excited about there. Not a lot to inspire fans to head to the football field on a chilly, fall Friday night.
That’s especially true when a team is overmatched, as Jay County was last season. One computer ranking system made them a 25-point underdog. Another went with 30.
But that’s not the case this time around, as the team prepares to host Greenfield-Central at 7:30 p.m. Friday.
While the computers still consider the Patriots the underdog, the projected margins are much more manageable — calpreps.com says nine points, the Sagarin Ratings go with 12. A play or two can swing a game like that.
Let’s take a look at some of the keys to Jay County picking up a win:

Turnovers
Ball security, as coaches like to call it, has been a key to Jay County going 6-3 this season after winning just six games combined in the previous two.
The Patriots have a plus-10 turnover ratio. That’s a recipe for victory.
Most of that boon has been in the running game, as JCHS has recovered 17 opponents’ fumbles this year. Meanwhile, they have given the ball away on fumbles just six times, half of which came in a 40-7 loss to Woodlan.
Interceptions are about even, with the Patriot quarterbacks having thrown five. The Jay County defense has picked off four passes.
The Woodlan game is a perfect illustration of what turnovers can mean. The Warriors turned each of the three JCHS fumbles in the first half into touchdowns.
To win Friday, Jay County must take care of the football.

Stop the run
While the Cougars do pass the ball — an average of 14 times per game — their offensive is built solidly on the running game.
Greenfield-Central has gained about three times as many yards on the ground as through the air this season. They surpassed 100 yards passing just twice.
The Cougars are essentially a two-man attack.
Seniors Michael Sosnowski and Skylar Gary each have four 100-yard games this season. They’ve each cracked the 200-yard mark once. They both average more than 8 yards per carry. They’ve combined for 21 touchdowns.
Sosnowski is the smaller back — 5 feet, 11 inches, and 175 pounds — and leads the team with 1,142 yards rushing. Gary is the larger — 6 feet, 1 inch, and 195 pounds — and has added 936 yards on the ground.
To win Friday, the Patriots must stop, or at least slow down, Sosnowski and Gary.

Block
The offensive line is one of the most overlooked areas of any football team.
The guys up front don’t garner much of anything in the way of statistics. (At least the defensive linemen can boast about tackles and sacks.)
But it’s in the trenches where games are won and lost, as JCHS running back Cole Stigleman noted after his four-touchdown performance Friday in Monroeville.
“It’s always the (offensive) line,” said Stigleman, he said. “Line is a big factor when you’re running the ball.”
It’s a big factor in the passing game too.
Few quarterbacks can be effective if they have to run for their life every time they drop back. An extra second or two to survey the field can mean the difference between a sizable gain and a sack.
To win Friday, the Patriots must get a push in the running game and keep the Greenfield-Central pass rush at bay.