September 16, 2017 at 5:26 a.m.
Turnover turmoil
Turnover turmoil
Copyright 2017, The Commercial Review
All Rights Reserved
The Patriots only had three giveaways all season.
They matched that number in the second half Friday night.
Jay County High School’s football team lost three fumbles in the second half, got shutout in the final 24 minutes and allowed 24 straight points in a 37-28 loss to the Bluffton Tigers.
“Turnovers are never good,” said JCHS coach Tim Millspaugh, whose team has lost back-to-back Allen County Athletic Conference contests and dips to 2-3 (1-2 ACAC) on the year. “But sometimes when they’re unforced it’s even more painful because you’ve done it to yourself.
“It was definitely disappointing.”
The first came on Jay County’s only drive of the third quarter. Bluffton (2-3, 1-2 ACAC), which scored before halftime to cut a 28-13 deficit to nine points, had its first drive of the third period stall at the Jay County 17.
The Patriots went 29 yards on six plays, but a fumbled snap on second-and-1 from the Bluffton 46 gave the ball back to the Tigers with 3:59 left in the quarter.
Thirteen plays later — 11 of which Brandon Lockwood touched the ball — Koltan Moore pushed across the line of fourth-and-goal from the 1 to make it a three-point game with 9:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The ensuing Jay County drive came to a halt at the Bluffton 23 with 4:41 to play, and Tiger quarterback Gavin King scrambled 3 yards for a touchdown to cap a seven-play drive that took the clock down to 2:17.
Following a block in the back penalty on the kickoff return, Jay County trailed 31-28 with 2:12 remaining and faced an 87-yard field with two timeouts.
JCHS quarterback Holton Hill, who to that point was 6-of-10 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns, wasn’t given much protection in the pocket. His first pass attempt fell incomplete, and on second down he was sacked by Nate Hill for a 7-yard loss.
On the next play, Hill lost the football in the end zone and Zachary Cummins fell on the loose ball for a touchdown to make it 37-28 with 1:40 to play.
“We definitely had some protection issues,” Millspaugh said. “We had some protection issues throughout the game. It was magnified at the end given the situation.”
On the next possession, Hill completed a 36-yard pass to Cole Stigleman — he had a 55-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter — on fourth-and-10 that got Jay County down to the Bluffton 37. A completion to Parker Grimes put the Patriots at the Tiger 25 before Moore hit Hill as he threw to jar the ball loose for the third and final turnover with 32 seconds left.
“Just getting some stops in the second half,” first-year Bluffton coach Brent Kunkel said of the keys to the game. “Getting them to turn it over. They fumbled three times. We haven’t won the turnover battle all year.”
The final two quarters, Millspaugh said, was a culmination of what he said was sloppy play in all facets of the game.
“It was poor from the get-go,” he said. “Even when we scored we didn’t execute real well in the first half. It kind of unraveled in the second.”
The Patriots had two big scoring plays in the opening quarter. The first was Stigleman’s 55-yard score, on which he caught the ball at the Bluffton 20 and trotted to the end zone as a Tiger defender fell down trying to make a play on Hill’s pass.
The second was a 63-yard pass and catch from Hill to Ryan Schlechty, who also had a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the period. Schlechty caught a swing pass down the left sideline, broke a couple tackles and picked up a key downfield block from Stigleman that allowed him to go free.
But even on those plays, as well as a 1-yard Michael Schlechty TD run in the second quarter, the Patriots missed blocks.
“We didn’t apply our rules very well, I didn’t call plays very well,” Millspaugh said.
Lockwood carried the load for the Tigers, rushing for 145 yards on 31 carries. Reid Wenger scored on his only rush of the game, a 48-yard scamper in the first quarter. King added 45 yards on the ground as the Tigers rushed for 267 yards total.
“We have a lot of two-way kids,” Kunkel said. “It just came down to heart and execution. That is the biggest thing I am proud of.”
All Rights Reserved
The Patriots only had three giveaways all season.
They matched that number in the second half Friday night.
Jay County High School’s football team lost three fumbles in the second half, got shutout in the final 24 minutes and allowed 24 straight points in a 37-28 loss to the Bluffton Tigers.
“Turnovers are never good,” said JCHS coach Tim Millspaugh, whose team has lost back-to-back Allen County Athletic Conference contests and dips to 2-3 (1-2 ACAC) on the year. “But sometimes when they’re unforced it’s even more painful because you’ve done it to yourself.
“It was definitely disappointing.”
The first came on Jay County’s only drive of the third quarter. Bluffton (2-3, 1-2 ACAC), which scored before halftime to cut a 28-13 deficit to nine points, had its first drive of the third period stall at the Jay County 17.
The Patriots went 29 yards on six plays, but a fumbled snap on second-and-1 from the Bluffton 46 gave the ball back to the Tigers with 3:59 left in the quarter.
Thirteen plays later — 11 of which Brandon Lockwood touched the ball — Koltan Moore pushed across the line of fourth-and-goal from the 1 to make it a three-point game with 9:39 remaining in the fourth quarter.
The ensuing Jay County drive came to a halt at the Bluffton 23 with 4:41 to play, and Tiger quarterback Gavin King scrambled 3 yards for a touchdown to cap a seven-play drive that took the clock down to 2:17.
Following a block in the back penalty on the kickoff return, Jay County trailed 31-28 with 2:12 remaining and faced an 87-yard field with two timeouts.
JCHS quarterback Holton Hill, who to that point was 6-of-10 passing for 149 yards and two touchdowns, wasn’t given much protection in the pocket. His first pass attempt fell incomplete, and on second down he was sacked by Nate Hill for a 7-yard loss.
On the next play, Hill lost the football in the end zone and Zachary Cummins fell on the loose ball for a touchdown to make it 37-28 with 1:40 to play.
“We definitely had some protection issues,” Millspaugh said. “We had some protection issues throughout the game. It was magnified at the end given the situation.”
On the next possession, Hill completed a 36-yard pass to Cole Stigleman — he had a 55-yard touchdown reception in the first quarter — on fourth-and-10 that got Jay County down to the Bluffton 37. A completion to Parker Grimes put the Patriots at the Tiger 25 before Moore hit Hill as he threw to jar the ball loose for the third and final turnover with 32 seconds left.
“Just getting some stops in the second half,” first-year Bluffton coach Brent Kunkel said of the keys to the game. “Getting them to turn it over. They fumbled three times. We haven’t won the turnover battle all year.”
The final two quarters, Millspaugh said, was a culmination of what he said was sloppy play in all facets of the game.
“It was poor from the get-go,” he said. “Even when we scored we didn’t execute real well in the first half. It kind of unraveled in the second.”
The Patriots had two big scoring plays in the opening quarter. The first was Stigleman’s 55-yard score, on which he caught the ball at the Bluffton 20 and trotted to the end zone as a Tiger defender fell down trying to make a play on Hill’s pass.
The second was a 63-yard pass and catch from Hill to Ryan Schlechty, who also had a 2-yard rushing touchdown in the period. Schlechty caught a swing pass down the left sideline, broke a couple tackles and picked up a key downfield block from Stigleman that allowed him to go free.
But even on those plays, as well as a 1-yard Michael Schlechty TD run in the second quarter, the Patriots missed blocks.
“We didn’t apply our rules very well, I didn’t call plays very well,” Millspaugh said.
Lockwood carried the load for the Tigers, rushing for 145 yards on 31 carries. Reid Wenger scored on his only rush of the game, a 48-yard scamper in the first quarter. King added 45 yards on the ground as the Tigers rushed for 267 yards total.
“We have a lot of two-way kids,” Kunkel said. “It just came down to heart and execution. That is the biggest thing I am proud of.”
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