Fumbling frenzy dooms Jay

MONROE — Fumble. Punt. Punt. Turnover on downs. Fumble. Punt. Punt. Fumble.

That’s how the first half went for the Patriot offense.

The second wasn’t much better: interception, fumble, punt, punt, final.

Adams Central ran wild when it had the ball.

The Jay County High School football team put the ball on the ground five times, lost four of those fumbles and finished with five total turnovers while the defense had difficulty tackling in a 41-0 loss Friday night to the host Flying Jets.

“You can’t beat anybody doing that, there’s no question about it,” said JCHS football coach Tim Millspaugh, whose team drops to 2-2 (1-1 Allen County Athletic Conference).

Adams Central, which finished seventh in the most recent Class A Associated Press poll, only had one turnover — a second-quarter interception — and moved to 4-0 (1-0 ACAC).

“It’s the same field,” Millspaugh added. “It’s the same conditions. We have to be better in those situations because when you play good teams especially … you cannot do that.”

Michael Mosser, Adams Central’s coach, was pleased with the way the Jets played given the conditions. Rain peppered the area for most of the afternoon, and a light sprinkle began about a half hour before the opening kickoff. As the game went on, the rain picked up.

“Sloppy game but I thought our kids played real well,” he said. “I thought their kids played hard. It was a good night for football, really. If you love football it was a good night for that.”

The Adams Central backfield of Logan Macklin, Jalen Hammond and Colton Yergler used their elusiveness to run amok through the Jay County defense. The trio combined for 31 carries, 13 of which traveled 10 or more yards.

Macklin, who finished with 156 yards on eight carries, took a toss from quarterback Parker Bates 55 yards for a touchdown on the Jets’ first drive. He also had a 17-yard TD run on the opening drive of the second half.

“They’ve got a stable of backs and they’re all shifty,” Millspaugh said. “They’re fast and it wears on you after a while.”

Hammond had a 20-yard TD run later in the first quarter as Adams Central led 14-0 early on.

A pair of field goals, one from 27 yards away and another from 32 yards, in the second quarter by senior Bailea Sprunger made it 20-0 Adams Central, a lead it took into halftime.

And in the third quarter, the Jet running backs put the game out of reach. Macklin’s second rushing TD made it 27-0.

Chase Peterson picked off a Parker Grimes pass at the JCHS 45-yard line and returned it 14 yards to the 31.

A holding play and consecutive false starts backed Adams Central across midfield, and it faced first-and-34 from its own 45.

Consecutive bubble screens from Bates to Macklin covered 48 yards, and Hammond scampered seven yards for the score midway through the third quarter.

“I can’t explain it,” Mosser said of converting the first-and-long in two plays and covering 55 yards in just three. “I think our guys just made plays. Usually that doesn’t happen. They just made plays.”

Hammond finished with 105 yards on 16 carries. Yergler, who added a 55-yard TD run later in the period, had 83 yards on seven carries.

Adams Central had a 509-162 margin in terms of total offense. Jay County — it never reached the red zone — punted six times, with those kicks covering more yards (167) than the offense did the entire night.

Ryan Schlechty ran 42 yards on six carries, while twin brother Michael rushed 13 times for 39 yards. Ryan Schlechty also caught the only completed pass for Jay County, a 32-yard fade in the first quarter.

Jay County will look to bounce back Friday as it travels to Bluffton to take on the Tigers.

Bluffton (0-4, 0-2 ACAC), which earlier Friday forfeited victories in the first two weeks of the season because of the use of an ineligible player, lost at home to Woodlan 49-21.

“I think our kids will come ready to go on Monday,” said Millspaugh, whose team lost to the Tigers at home last season, 37-28. “Going to look at some stuff we have to clean up then we’ll start preparing for Bluffton.”