Patriots to face Lapel

Jay County Patriots

Portland, 2-5 

Coach: Eddie Fields, first year (fifth overall)

Conference: Allen County

Last week at South Adams: The Patriots gave up four scores in the first quarter as they fell to South Adams 42-16. The Starfires excelled on the ground and in the air, racking up 445 total yards on 40 plays, while JCHS had 164 yards on 51 plays. Jay County hit a field goal in the second quarter and scored both of its touchdowns after halftime.

Season leaders: Passing — Nick Laux – 55-of-98 for 596 yards and five touchdowns. Rushing — Leighton Brown – 102 carries for 524 yards and four touchdowns. Receiving — Brady Jetmore – 19 catches for 272 yards and three touchdowns.

Lapel Bulldogs

Lapel, 7-0

Coach: Tim Miller, 14th year

Conference: Independent

Last week at Heritage Christian: The Bulldogs and Eagles finished the first quarter tied 7-7 before LHS scored 28 unanswered points for the 35-7 victory. Devin Craig threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns, three of which were caught by Jaxon Cripe.

Season leaders: Passing — Devin Craig – 111-of-173 for 1,446 yards and 21 touchdowns. Rushing —Jack Miller – 131 carries for 818 yards and eight touchdowns. Receiving — Liam Ko – 27 catches for 341 yards and five touchdowns. Defense — Isaiah Young – 82 tackles. Will Gilbert – 38 tackles and 7.5 sacks.

Last season: The Patriots came painfully close to beating Lapel but a failed attempt to score from the 1, two squandered point-after-touchdown attempts and five turnovers were all nails in the coffin of a 14-12 loss. The Patriots’ scores came from the run game with Sean Bailey and A.J. Myers.

Game notes: This is the seventh matchup between the Patriots and the Bulldogs. Jay County has yet to pull off a victory as LHS holds a 6-0 record ... Lapel’s 7-0 start is the best since 2005’s 6-0 opening ... The Bulldogs are ranked third in Class 2A, only behind Adams Central and Brownstown Central ... Jay County has a 36.36 Sagarin rating, which is 219th overall and 45th in Class 3A. Lapel’s 74.08 rating is 48th  overall and fourth in Class 2A ... John Harrell projects the Jay County to lose 38-10.