History on the horizon? (11/01/07)

This is one of the reasons athletes play the games, and fans pour so much of their time into rooting for them.

It's the opportunity to make history - to be the first, the best, the only.

And the Patriots will have that chance Friday night.

Jay County High School's football team hosts the Muncie Southside Rebels in the Class 4A Sectional 12 championship game Friday at 7 p.m.

A win in just their third sectional championship appearance would bring the first title in school history and tie the JCHS record for victories in a single season.

"It's the only option," said senior cornerback Aaron Daniels of that possibility. "We don't want to give up the hardware Friday night to another team on our home field. To raise the trophy in front of the home crowd (would be) awesome."

There is little mystery about what it will take for the Patriots to be toting the trophy as they belt out the fight song Friday night. They will have to be able to tackle the littlest player on the Southside squad - 5-foot-7-inch junior Jamil Smith.

The Rebels' diminutive quarterback almost single-handedly slaughtered ninth-ranked Delta in last week's sectional semifinal round, racking up 271 rushing yards on 35 carries while completing 6-of-10 passes for 124 yards. He ran for one touchdown and threw for two in Southside's 38-20 victory over the Eagles, a team it lost to 27-7 during the regular season.

"He's fast," said lineman Kyle Cook, "so basically we're just going to try to box him in and not give him anywhere to run."

Cook noted that he and his fellow defensive lineman will seek to keep Smith stationary instead of letting him run all over the field, as has been his trademark.

For the season Smith averages 202 yards passing and 138 yards rushing per game. He was held well below those numbers in the first meeting between the two teams - a dramatic 27-25 win for Jay County on Sept. 14 - as he finished with 167 yards passing and 95 on the ground.

JCHS coach Shane Hill said the pass coverage will have to come up big to help the front four neutralize Smith.

"Last game the thing that hurt us the most was his passing," said Smith. "The big reason, as we watched the film over and over and over ... was that he just bought time and our coverage broke down. We really worked on our coverage lasting seven to eight seconds, because that's how much time he's going to be able to buy.

"We're just going to have to be solid from top to bottom and play disciplined football."

Smith has plenty of weapons to aid him with receivers Wenstone Nash (62 receptions, 783 yards, 11 touchdowns), D.J. Buchanan and Terry Mitchell and running back Bruce Evans (116 carries, 760 yards, 17 TDs).

That combination has led Southside (7-4) to five straight wins since the team dropped four in a row to Yorktown, Delta, Jay County and Anderson Highland. It has scored at least 27 points in each of those victories.

Jay County (8-3) has gone on a similar run, starting with its win over the Rebels. It followed with back-to-back 40-point games in victories over Connersville and Winchester, and has won six of its last seven with the lone defeat coming to East Chicago Central.

One of the reasons for the streak is a more balanced offense to go along with a defense that has held teams to fewer than 20 points seven times and has given up more than 30 just once.

Primarily a passing team early in the year, the Patriots gouged Greenfield-Central in the final game of the regular season and Muncie Central in the sectional opener with their use of the read option. Then, in last week's 23-16 win over New Castle, they went smash mouth on a rainy evening by using a three-back formation and pounding the ball up the middle.

Jay County's victory over the North Central Conference's Trojans and Southside's upset of Delta from the Hoosier Heritage Conference leaves the two Olympic Athletic Conference rivals to battle it out in the sectional championship.

"We don't get a lot of credit, and maybe rightfully so. We haven't really proven much as a conference.," said Hill. "We don't typically have stellar records top-to-bottom. We're not typically ranked in the top 10 ... But we're the only conference that's left playing in Sectional 12. We're really excited to maybe put the OAC on the map."

The winner of this all-OAC final has something a little extra to play for. Not only would it mean a sectional title, but the winning team would likely host Class 4A No. 1 Bishop Dwenger (11-0) in the regional championship.

Five touchdowns, including two in the final minute, a blocked punt, an interception and some sprinklers - all in the fourth quarter - in the first meeting between the Patriots and Rebels this year should only serve to boost the fervor for Friday's sectional finale.

"I expect it to be packed. ... I expect it to be and hope for it to be an amazing sight," said Hill. "I'll be shocked if there are any seats in the stands. I expect to see people along the fences, all over the place, maybe even around the corners in the end zones. ... We'll find places to put them if they want to keep coming.

"I have a feeling I'm going to have some goose bumps when I walk out on the field for the first time when the crowd comes alive."[[In-content Ad]]