EJ 8th graders join freshmen in perfection (10/21/04)

MUNCIE — Win.

It is the most simple, one-word goal for every team.

Not one, but two Jay County football teams accomplished that goal every time they set foot on the gridiron this year.

The Patriot freshmen completed perfection last week, finishing 6-0 with a 22-6 victory over the Muncie Southside Rebels. East Jay’s eighth grade team faced its most difficult test as it visited the Delta Eagles Wednesday night, but came out with a sparkling 9-0 record after a 14-6 win.

“This is awesome,” said Chief quarterback Billy Wellman, echoing the feelings of his teammates and the Jay County freshmen.

East Jay, which finished 5-4 as eighth graders last season, was a picture of balance this year.

It racked up points on offense, averaging 28 per game, but had a lock-down defense as well. And that defense led the Chiefs to their final victory.

After a scoreless first quarter, defense accounted for the first East Jay touchdown in the second.

Delta, which also entered the game unbeaten, took over at the 20-yard line after a punt, but couldn’t even hold onto the ball for one play. Quarterback Brooks Medaris tried to toss a pass into the right flat, but Adam Garringer was there for the Chiefs.

Garringer tipped the ball with his right hand, then made a one-handed catch with his left before scampering 20 yards down the left sideline for a touchdown.

Wellman added a 1-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left in the first half and hit Dexter Shreve for the two-point conversion.

The host Eagles cut into the East Jay lead on a 41-yard touchdown run by Kyle Stevens in the third quarter, but they would not see the end zone again. They got to the 4-yard line late in the fourth quarter, but on fourth-and-goal Casey Kenney made a shoestring tackle on Stevens for a 7-yard loss to seal the victory.

“I didn’t think I would have it, but I just ended up tipping it and catching it and then I took off,” said Garringer of his interception. “I think I kind of got lucky, because they ran the same play that we run on the sprint pass, so I was just normally drifting off to that side. He threw it right at me.”

“Defensively they were a swarming to the ball type of team,” said East Jay coach Butch Gray. “They played it totally as a team. These kids, I think, were unselfish. Whatever they needed to do, they did.”

The pair of undefeated seasons were actually bookended by big wins over Delta. While the Chiefs had to wait until their last game to play the Eagles, Jay County’s freshmen did it in the opener.

The Patriots led that entire game, only to have Delta score what could have been the tying touchdown in the fourth quarter. But, Jay County denied the two-point conversion and held strong on the Eagles’ final attempt with the ball in the last 1:30 of the game.

In that contest Kyle Cook, who scored a team-high five touchdowns this year, got in the end zone twice. Cook scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter, then found the end zone on a 55-yard screen pass from Justin Mann.

Quarterback Aaron Daniels also tossed a two-point conversion pass to Michael Jobe.

That victory over Delta launched the unbeaten season, which followed with wins over Blackford, Connersville, Anderson Highland, Bluffton and Muncie Southside. Coach Bob May said he thought the reason for the improvement this year — neither East Jay or West Jay went perfect as eighth graders last year — was the unification of the two junior high groups.

“It was amazing because we all came together as one,” agreed Daniels. “It was like one big unit. Nobody thought about themselves or who was getting all the (glory). We just worked as one unit.”

That unit won its final three games by a combined score of 83-6, getting shutout victories against Highland and Bluffton.

“It’s a great feeling,” said Baxter Holdcroft. “(The coaches) worked us hard. That was part of the reason we went undefeated.”

East Jay opened its season with four straight shutouts, not allowing a point until the fifth game in a 30-6 victory over Richmond Dennis. The Chiefs allowed just 18 points all season and finished with six shutouts.

“These kids believed in themselves,” said Gray. “It was just a lot of fun.”

May also enjoyed his team’s victories, but said it was a moment after the game in Anderson that made him most proud. After that contest the coaches and athletics director from Highland crossed the field and complimented May on how disciplined the Patriots were on and off the field.

“That’s what impressed me the most about this team,” May said.

And while he remembers that game fondly, May, like his players, looks back to the opener.

“Our toughest game was Delta, which was our first game,” he said. “They just had the desire to beat Delta ...

“They want to keep it up through their whole high school career now.”[[In-content Ad]]