For the win

As Nick Laux took the field with less than seven minutes remaining in the fourth quarter, he had rushed and passed for a combined 3 yards.

One whirlwind drive later, he’d not only changed the complexion of his box score, but was directly responsible for the only stat that mattered — the victory.

Laux punctuated the Jay County High School football team's Senior Night celebration with a touchdown pass to classmate Aiden Phillips and a 2-point conversion run with seven seconds left on the clock to stun the visiting Heritage Patriots by a 15-14 score on Friday night.

“It means everything,” Laux said. “These guys, we’ve worked for four years, just constantly trying to do something like this, and it feels amazing to finally do it … we’ve never faltered as a team, and we just always stayed together, so it means everything.”

The come-from-behind win wouldn’t have occurred without Laux’s moxie. After Jay County (3-6, 2-4 Allen County Athletic Conference) scored with 7.4 seconds left to shave the Heritage (5-4, 2-4 ACAC) lead to one, coach Eddie Fields elected to go for two instead of trying the extra point to force overtime.

Laux took the snap, faked a handoff to tailback Leighton Brown and bashed through the Heritage defense to seal the victory.

“I’m glad we went for two,” Laux said. “We were all locked in. Nobody was overly crazy, we were just ready to go.”

There was no doubt that Fields would put the ball in the hands of his senior signal-caller on the decisive play. The clutch conversion carried added significance after Laux endured two injury-riddled seasons before this year’s up-and-down campaign.

“When the game’s on the line, you just give it to the guy that you just know puts everything he has into it, and it’s really special for him,” Fields said. “He’s had three years of just ready to make that play, and building up, and it’s cool in the moment that he got it done.”

Not only was Fields certain that Laux would be the centerpiece of the 2-point try, but the coach also never considered sending out kicker Jacoby Penrod for a game-tying extra point.

“One hundred percent, we knew we were going to go for two,” Fields said. “I told the coaches the drive before, ‘We’re going for two. We’re going to go down and score and go for two.’ I just think you go out and I like to roll the dice in that situation … we’re playing to win the game, and I guess that’s just my philosophy, there’s not a lot of thought process that goes into it.”

The 2-point try wouldn’t have been possible if not for the 11-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that preceded it. Taking the field with 6:26 left in the contest, the home Patriots quickly marched to midfield via a short pass from Laux to Brown, who sprinted down the right sideline for a 26-yard gain.

A few plays later, Laux connected with Phillips, who reeled in the short feed over the middle and knifed through the Heritage defense for 37 yards before being taken down at the 4-yard line. After negative plays backed the home Patriots up to the 5, Laux again looked Phillips’ way on fourth down, lofting a pass to his trusted target in the middle of the field for the pivotal score.

Phillips’ pair of catches turned his lackluster day into a memorable one, as he had just one reception for 12 yards prior to the final drive.

“The whole team has confidence in me, and I love that,” Phillips said. “Like, they knew they wanted to get me the ball in the situation. That’s why I love them.”

Prior to crunch time, Jay County had struggled to mount a consistent offense. The 87-yard drive accounted for 44% of the team’s total yards.

One bright spot for the home Patriots early in the contest was Brown, who racked up 72 first-half rushing yards on just eight carries. His 35-yard touchdown gallop early in the second quarter got Jay County on the board first, and his rushing prowess made him a key decoy on both Phillips’ touchdown grab and Laux’s conversion run.

While Heritage countered with a pair of touchdowns on the ground, the visiting Patriots’ success simply set the stage for Jay County’s closing act that made for a jubilant Senior Night at Harold E. Schutz Memorial Stadium.

“I’m just overjoyed for that group of seniors,” Fields said. “I mean, they’ve had a rough go this year. … And they just kept working, and (they’re) just great kids.”