Bulldogs bite Jay Co.

NEW HAVEN - A few key plays in the closing minutes of the opening half were all that kept the Patriots from having a chance to keep playing football for another week.

Jay County High School's football team dominated the running game Friday night. They and the New Haven Bulldogs were nearly even in the passing game.

However, turnovers helped lead New Haven to 21 points in the final four minutes of the first half, including two TDs in the last 46 seconds, as it topped the Patriots 28-10 in the quarterfinal round of the Class 4A sectional tournament.

"Jay County outplayed us," said New Haven coach Jim Rowland, whose team is now 5-5. "The kids out-hustled us. ... They certainly didn't make it easy. ... They were gamers. There's no doubt about it.

"It came down to turnovers. Our defense came up with big plays when we needed them. ... That's the difference in the game."

The Patriots (2-8), who gave up two touchdowns in the final three minutes of the opening half in last week's loss to Greenville, held a 3-0 lead for most of the first half because of a 32-yard Colton Prescott field goal. But New Haven took the lead when Frank Lloyd broke a 47-yard reverse around the left end for a touchdown with four minutes left before halftime, and turnovers quickly sent the game spiraling in the Bulldogs' favor.

With 1:36 remaining Zach Cash tried a deep pass on the left sideline, but Caleb Heckley came down with an interception. Three plays later quarterback Lucas Salerno dropped a perfect ball into the arms of Brandon Pease for a 54-yard gain to the 2-yard line.

The deep pass set up a 2-yard TD run from Lloyd with 49 seconds left.

Jay County got the ball back again, but on its second play Trentyn Burford picked off Cash and returned the ball up the right side to the 9-yard line. The second Patriot turnover set up another touchdown run from Lloyd, this time from 1 yard out, with 8.6 seconds on the clock.

"Too many turnovers," said JCHS coach Shane Hill, whose team was intercepted two more times in the second half with one returned for a touchdown.

"Hindsight is 20-20," he added of the turnover that set up New Haven's third TD. "If I could take that one back I'd take that one back.

"But other than that, these kids played their hearts out for four quarters ..."

Jay County out-gained the Bulldogs 344-172, especially dominating the running game.

Michael Daniels and Cash each cleared the century mark, finishing with 156 yards on 32 carried and 110 yards on 10 carries respectively. New Haven running back Frank Lloyd, who has over 1,600 yards on the season, was limited to 78 with just one run longer than six yards.

The JCHS defense, led by Dillon Easton's 12 tackles, limited the Bulldogs to just 83 yards on 29 rushing attempts. It also forced six punts.

"I think they controlled the line of scrimmage better than we anticipated," said Rowland. "I thought they dominated the scrimmage on both sides of the ball."

New Haven advances to the sectional semifinal round and will visit Wayne Friday at 7 p.m. The Generals advanced Friday with a 30-0 victory over Marion.

Jay County, which mixed freshman Brock McFarland (5-of-13 for 60 yards) in with Cash in the second half, cut the Bulldog's lead to 21-10 on their second drive of the second half. They got a 23-yard run from Daniels followed by a 19-yarder from Cash in a 7-play, 60-yard drive.

"Brock was a weapon that we were going to utilize (earlier in the season) and unfortunately had the hand injury," said Hill. "I thought he showed great poise today.

"I think Cash showed his ability to run the ball is his biggest asset. ... It's definitely some good weapons to have coming back next year."

But after the Patriots forced a New Haven punt, Heckley came up with another interception on a long fourth-down pass from McFarland. JCHS's defense stood strong again to force a third consecutive three-and-out, only to have Dillon Beck pick off a McFarland pass on the second play of the ensuing drive and bring it back 25 yards for a touchdown with 11:01 remaining in the game.

Jay County was unable to get much going offensively in the final quarter, giving up the ball on downs in each of its final two possessions.

The Patriots closed the year with seven straight losses, matching their longest drought since dropping seven in a row to finish the 1996 campaign

"To Jay County's credit, those kids fought four quarters," said Rowland. "They could have hung it up when it was 21-3 at halftime. ... I think if we had scored in the third quarter we could have put the game away. They just wouldn't let that happen.

"I was impressed overall with the way they played."

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