July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Giants end JC season (10/25/2008)
JCHS football
Giants end JC season (10/25/2008)
By By RAY COONEY-
MARION - "We started too late."
It has been the unfortunate reality for the Patriots over the course of the past month. And it held true again Friday night.
The Jay County High School football team fell behind 40-6 before rallying to within two touchdowns, only to lose 47-33 in their sectional quarterfinal game to the Marion Giants.
The quote came from JCHS coach Shane Hill on the sidelines after Marion covered an onside kick attempt with about three minutes left, and he reiterated the thought after the game.
"This has been for the past three weeks," he said. "In the first half we haven't come ready to play. ...
"The bottom line is we didn't get off the bus ready to play again. We waited until we were in a humungous hole to try to climb out of it, and it was a little too late."
Marion needed less than three minutes to put the first of its seven touchdowns on the board, and had a 26-6 lead after Jovan Freshwater scored with one second remaining in the opening half. The Giants stopped Jay County (3-7) on its first drive of the second half, and then marched 49 yards in six plays with Thomas Barnes hitting Freshwater on a 17-yard scoring strike.
Then came the odd play that ended up being enormous in the outcome. Marion (4-6) sent a squib kick away from the JCHS return men and then beat them to the ball, effectively turning it into a long onside kick by recovering it at the 28-yard line. It took them just three plays in 49 seconds to get in the end zone again, this time on an 8-yard run by Michael Marble, for a 40-6 lead.
"When we squibbed that kick down the sideline and our guy got to it first, that was huge for us," said first-year Marion coach Randy Sehy. "Little things like that went our way tonight. ...
"We've struggled covering the deep kick all year. So we've really worked on the squib and bouncing it around and it gives our younger guys a little more time to get down there and cover."
Although the game seemed over at the time, Jay County managed to get back in it by scoring three consecutive TDs. The rally included a 60-yard kickoff return by Ben Vance leading to a 20-yard Michael Daniels touchdown run, and an onside kick recover between scoring runs of 1 yard by Daniels and 21 from Lance Franklin.
But Marion managed to put the game away, getting a 15-yard TD run by Marble and then recovering the onside kick attempt after JCHS quarterback Billy Wellman hit Adam Garringer with a TD pass with 3:23 to play.
The Giants, who advance to play Muncie Southside in the sectional semifinal round, racked up 313 yards on 43 carries. Freshwater was the leading rusher with 110 yards on 14 attempts, including a 34-yard run in the final minutes at the end of which he stayed in bounds to keep the clock running.
"Javon's been a great player for us this year," said Sehy of Freshwater, who also had two receptions for 40 yards and scored three times. "We've had our ups and downs, but when we've needed him he's really come through for us. That was maybe the smartest play he's made all year right there."
Marble added eight carries for 92 yards, and Barnes ran 14 times for 77 yards.
Jay County's lone TD in the first half came when a pass by Wellman got tipped in the end zone, but deflected right to Dexter Shreve.
Wellman, who entered the game third in the state in passing, finished 14-of-27 for 216 yards. Shreve, who was fifth in receiving, caught five passes for 80 yards, and Garringer added four receptions for 44 yards.
Michael Daniels led the rushing attack with 73 yards on 17 carries.
The loss marked the end of a run of three straight winning seasons for the Patriots, a first since the late 1980s. They were 7-4 in 2005, 6-5 in 2006 and 9-4 last season.
It was also the first sectional quarterfinal defeat for JCHS since 2004, when it went 3-7 and fell in the first round to Muncie Central.
But despite loss and the slow start Friday, Hill said he was happy that his team fought back despite facing the 34-point deficit.
"We didn't quit," he said. "I hope people see, even though we didn't come on the winning side of this, it was a Patriots team that played four quarters and didn't give up and had a chance even if it was a slim one ...
"I'm proud of these kids. I'm proud of these seniors. This was a hard year for everybody ... They never quit. They never gave up. The persevered when things were real tough."
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It has been the unfortunate reality for the Patriots over the course of the past month. And it held true again Friday night.
The Jay County High School football team fell behind 40-6 before rallying to within two touchdowns, only to lose 47-33 in their sectional quarterfinal game to the Marion Giants.
The quote came from JCHS coach Shane Hill on the sidelines after Marion covered an onside kick attempt with about three minutes left, and he reiterated the thought after the game.
"This has been for the past three weeks," he said. "In the first half we haven't come ready to play. ...
"The bottom line is we didn't get off the bus ready to play again. We waited until we were in a humungous hole to try to climb out of it, and it was a little too late."
Marion needed less than three minutes to put the first of its seven touchdowns on the board, and had a 26-6 lead after Jovan Freshwater scored with one second remaining in the opening half. The Giants stopped Jay County (3-7) on its first drive of the second half, and then marched 49 yards in six plays with Thomas Barnes hitting Freshwater on a 17-yard scoring strike.
Then came the odd play that ended up being enormous in the outcome. Marion (4-6) sent a squib kick away from the JCHS return men and then beat them to the ball, effectively turning it into a long onside kick by recovering it at the 28-yard line. It took them just three plays in 49 seconds to get in the end zone again, this time on an 8-yard run by Michael Marble, for a 40-6 lead.
"When we squibbed that kick down the sideline and our guy got to it first, that was huge for us," said first-year Marion coach Randy Sehy. "Little things like that went our way tonight. ...
"We've struggled covering the deep kick all year. So we've really worked on the squib and bouncing it around and it gives our younger guys a little more time to get down there and cover."
Although the game seemed over at the time, Jay County managed to get back in it by scoring three consecutive TDs. The rally included a 60-yard kickoff return by Ben Vance leading to a 20-yard Michael Daniels touchdown run, and an onside kick recover between scoring runs of 1 yard by Daniels and 21 from Lance Franklin.
But Marion managed to put the game away, getting a 15-yard TD run by Marble and then recovering the onside kick attempt after JCHS quarterback Billy Wellman hit Adam Garringer with a TD pass with 3:23 to play.
The Giants, who advance to play Muncie Southside in the sectional semifinal round, racked up 313 yards on 43 carries. Freshwater was the leading rusher with 110 yards on 14 attempts, including a 34-yard run in the final minutes at the end of which he stayed in bounds to keep the clock running.
"Javon's been a great player for us this year," said Sehy of Freshwater, who also had two receptions for 40 yards and scored three times. "We've had our ups and downs, but when we've needed him he's really come through for us. That was maybe the smartest play he's made all year right there."
Marble added eight carries for 92 yards, and Barnes ran 14 times for 77 yards.
Jay County's lone TD in the first half came when a pass by Wellman got tipped in the end zone, but deflected right to Dexter Shreve.
Wellman, who entered the game third in the state in passing, finished 14-of-27 for 216 yards. Shreve, who was fifth in receiving, caught five passes for 80 yards, and Garringer added four receptions for 44 yards.
Michael Daniels led the rushing attack with 73 yards on 17 carries.
The loss marked the end of a run of three straight winning seasons for the Patriots, a first since the late 1980s. They were 7-4 in 2005, 6-5 in 2006 and 9-4 last season.
It was also the first sectional quarterfinal defeat for JCHS since 2004, when it went 3-7 and fell in the first round to Muncie Central.
But despite loss and the slow start Friday, Hill said he was happy that his team fought back despite facing the 34-point deficit.
"We didn't quit," he said. "I hope people see, even though we didn't come on the winning side of this, it was a Patriots team that played four quarters and didn't give up and had a chance even if it was a slim one ...
"I'm proud of these kids. I'm proud of these seniors. This was a hard year for everybody ... They never quit. They never gave up. The persevered when things were real tough."
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