April 24, 2020 at 5:05 p.m.
Theme sparked conversion stop
Memorable moments
Theme sparked conversion stop
Editor’s note: Be it key plays, incredible achievements or milestone events, sports are full of instances that stick out more than others. Sports editor Chris Schanz has seen a ton of them. In this “Memorable Moments” series, he’ll revisit some important moments in area athletics.
••••••••••
A lot can happen over the course of a 48-minute high school football game.
Aside from any fanfare between quarters or at halftime, the game itself can feature more than 100 plays.
Each builds up to the final score, obviously. Depending on the aforementioned score, the final play may just be a formality, such as the quarterback taking a knee to run out the clock.
But sometimes that final play has a direct impact on the outcome of the game.
Team A crosses the goal line on a conversion and they win by one. Team B keeps the ball out of the end zone and it wins.
That was precisely the situation back on Sept. 30, 2016, as the Jay County Patriots were hosting the South Adams Starfires for homecoming at Harold E. Schutz Stadium in Portland.
South Adams had just zipped 65 yards down the field and scored on a 1-yard run from Marcus Teeter. The Starfires were trailing 29-28, needing to cover just three yards for the 2-point conversion and the win.
Twice earlier in the game, South Adams had covered those 3 yards following a touchdown for the two extra points. This time, a victory was riding on the ability to do it a third time.
The day before that fall Friday night, JCHS wrestling coach Eric Myers had spoken to the Patriot football team after its practice. He preached resilience.
“He said that word just kept coming back,” Jay County football coach Tim Millspaugh said. “We talked about, ‘Keep competing. Give yourself a chance to win. Don’t give up. Be resilient.’”
The Patriots entered the game 3-2 overall and 1-2 in Allen County Athletic Conference play. The Starfires, who went on to shock the state by beating top-ranked Woodlan in the sectional semifinal on their way to their third championship in four years, were 4-1 (2-1 ACAC).
South Adams struck first and led 14-7 after the first quarter, but went into halftime tied with Jay County at 14.
Michael Schlechty caught a Holton Hill pass to give JCHS a 21-14 lead, but Teeter found Cameron Cook for a TD pass for the second time in the game before Joe Stuber’s conversion put South Adams on top, 22-21.
On fourth-and-6 from the 35-yard line, Bryan Stancliffe checked out of his intended dig route and switched to a fade based on the coverage he was seeing. Hill acknowledged the change, and they connected for the go-ahead touchdown. A Hill pass to Cole Stigleman on the conversion put Jay County back out front, 29-22 with 6:19 to play in the game.
Teeter’s TD run with 19 seconds remaining put the Starfires just 3 yards away from moving to 5-1.
Like Myers had talked about the night before, Jay County’s defense had to be resilient. If it stops South Adams from reaching the goal line, it would move to 4-2 and prevent back-to-back losses.
Teeter took the snap and made a short pitch right to Stuber. He was met by Patriot defenders Daniel Ostrowski, Jacob Geesaman and Ethan Theurer. The JCHS trio stood Stuber up and pushed him back well short of the goal line to preserve the lead.
Resilience indeed.
“It was so fitting … that (Myers) had that conversation (Thursday) night with our kids,” Millspaugh said. “There were the peaks. There were the valleys. They have all the momentum, punch that thing in, they go for two and our kids dig in.”
Grant Moser, South Adams’ second-year coach, was expecting a battle.
“We knew it would be a great game,” he said. “They’re underrated. They don’t get a whole lot of love in the Fort Wayne press and stuff … We knew it would be a dogfight tonight.”
Jay County ran out the final 19 seconds for the one-point win.
The Patriots’ homecoming game featured 111 total plays. But the conversion — which technically isn’t a play — was the most memorable that night.
The home team needed to live up to the theme the previous evening. The result was riding on it.
The red, white and blue came through to be resilient, stop the Starfires and hang on for the victory.
••••••••••
A lot can happen over the course of a 48-minute high school football game.
Aside from any fanfare between quarters or at halftime, the game itself can feature more than 100 plays.
Each builds up to the final score, obviously. Depending on the aforementioned score, the final play may just be a formality, such as the quarterback taking a knee to run out the clock.
But sometimes that final play has a direct impact on the outcome of the game.
Team A crosses the goal line on a conversion and they win by one. Team B keeps the ball out of the end zone and it wins.
That was precisely the situation back on Sept. 30, 2016, as the Jay County Patriots were hosting the South Adams Starfires for homecoming at Harold E. Schutz Stadium in Portland.
South Adams had just zipped 65 yards down the field and scored on a 1-yard run from Marcus Teeter. The Starfires were trailing 29-28, needing to cover just three yards for the 2-point conversion and the win.
Twice earlier in the game, South Adams had covered those 3 yards following a touchdown for the two extra points. This time, a victory was riding on the ability to do it a third time.
The day before that fall Friday night, JCHS wrestling coach Eric Myers had spoken to the Patriot football team after its practice. He preached resilience.
“He said that word just kept coming back,” Jay County football coach Tim Millspaugh said. “We talked about, ‘Keep competing. Give yourself a chance to win. Don’t give up. Be resilient.’”
The Patriots entered the game 3-2 overall and 1-2 in Allen County Athletic Conference play. The Starfires, who went on to shock the state by beating top-ranked Woodlan in the sectional semifinal on their way to their third championship in four years, were 4-1 (2-1 ACAC).
South Adams struck first and led 14-7 after the first quarter, but went into halftime tied with Jay County at 14.
Michael Schlechty caught a Holton Hill pass to give JCHS a 21-14 lead, but Teeter found Cameron Cook for a TD pass for the second time in the game before Joe Stuber’s conversion put South Adams on top, 22-21.
On fourth-and-6 from the 35-yard line, Bryan Stancliffe checked out of his intended dig route and switched to a fade based on the coverage he was seeing. Hill acknowledged the change, and they connected for the go-ahead touchdown. A Hill pass to Cole Stigleman on the conversion put Jay County back out front, 29-22 with 6:19 to play in the game.
Teeter’s TD run with 19 seconds remaining put the Starfires just 3 yards away from moving to 5-1.
Like Myers had talked about the night before, Jay County’s defense had to be resilient. If it stops South Adams from reaching the goal line, it would move to 4-2 and prevent back-to-back losses.
Teeter took the snap and made a short pitch right to Stuber. He was met by Patriot defenders Daniel Ostrowski, Jacob Geesaman and Ethan Theurer. The JCHS trio stood Stuber up and pushed him back well short of the goal line to preserve the lead.
Resilience indeed.
“It was so fitting … that (Myers) had that conversation (Thursday) night with our kids,” Millspaugh said. “There were the peaks. There were the valleys. They have all the momentum, punch that thing in, they go for two and our kids dig in.”
Grant Moser, South Adams’ second-year coach, was expecting a battle.
“We knew it would be a great game,” he said. “They’re underrated. They don’t get a whole lot of love in the Fort Wayne press and stuff … We knew it would be a dogfight tonight.”
Jay County ran out the final 19 seconds for the one-point win.
The Patriots’ homecoming game featured 111 total plays. But the conversion — which technically isn’t a play — was the most memorable that night.
The home team needed to live up to the theme the previous evening. The result was riding on it.
The red, white and blue came through to be resilient, stop the Starfires and hang on for the victory.
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