July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
Jay Co. loses wild affair (09/18/04)
JCHS football
Jay Co. loses wild affair (09/18/04)
PORTLAND — Justin Gilbert turned in one of the greatest performances in Jay County football history. It came in what had to be one of the craziest games in Jay County — or any other — football history.
In the end, the Patriots missed an extra point with no time on the clock to lose by a 30-29 score to the Muncie Southside Rebels Friday night.
“All I know is that I’m so proud of our kids,” said Jay County coach Shane Hill. “My goodness, the way they battled, the way they fought. Several times our backs were against the wall and they could have packed it in and quit, but they never did. ...
“I just love these kids to death with the heart they showed tonight. If we keep that up, we could be pretty dangerous in the end.”
Gilbert became just the third running back in Jay County history to run for more than 200 yards in a game, carrying the ball 22 times for 202 yards. He is the first runner in more than 20 years to do so, following Robin Finch (236 in 1981) and Jeff Alberson (206 in 1977).
He put the team on his back in the second half, often digging them out of huge yardage holes because of penalties or other losses. His runs included a 21-yard, fourth-down scoring scamper with 4:53 left and the two-point conversion that went with it to tie the game at 23-23.
But that was just the beginning of the craziness.
After each team punted, Muncie Southside got the ball back with 1:12 remaining and moved up 15 yards to the Jay County 35 after a personal foul on the first play. Nick Robey took advantage of the good field position, hitting Kyle Cranmer behind the defense for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
The extra point put the Rebels up 30-23 with 1:00 to play and more insanity yet to come.
The Patriots (1-4) had a long way to go starting at their own 28-yard line, but Cory Locke opened with a 27-yard pass up the middle to new tight end Corey Comer.
Locke was sacked for a yard loss on the next play, completed a pass to Comer for eight yards on second down, then spiked the ball on third down to stop the clock. An incomplete pass to Ben Freeman should have given the ball to Southside on downs, but there was confusion on the field and after a long discussion the officials gave the home team one more try — a phantom fifth down.
From the 38-yard line Locke tossed toward the end zone for an incomplete pass, but Jay County was granted yet another chance thanks to a pass interference penalty. The call came with no time remaining, resulting in a single, un-timed down.
With the ball at the 23-yard line, Locke scrambled to his left and waited for Mark Kelly to run from his wide out spot on the right side of the field. Kelly got to the middle of the end zone and caught Locke’s lob amidst three defenders for what could have been the tying score.
But, the extra down, the penalty and the acrobatic touchdown catch went for naught. The snap on the extra-point try was high, and although holder Adam Foster got it down, the hurried kick by Trent Bailey went off the crossbar and was no good.
Hill said he remembered 2003 while deciding to go for the extra point to try to give his team a chance to win in overtime.
“I wanted to go for the one, because last year against Muncie South we went for the two and didn’t get it,” he said. “I thought back to that day and to that time and even though I was trying to give the kids a chance to win the game then, I sure wanted to give them a chance to win the game (tonight). And I didn’t want to blow it by making a bad call.”
The best call of the night was the choice to keep giving the ball to Gilbert, who ran for 123 of his yards after the intermission. He ran for more than 10 yards eight times, with four of those plays going for more than 20 yards.
The junior did everything, outrunning the defense on occasion while also dragging mobs of defenders behind him for extra yardage.
“Justin Gilbert’s a game-breaker any time he gets the ball ...” said Hill, also giving a lot of credit to the offensive line. “He’s athletic and he’s got some moves when he gets in the open field. I think he showed those tonight.”
Locke also had a career game, tossing for more than 100 yards in the first half en route to a 9-of-18 performance for 176 yards. He ran for a touchdown in each half before hitting Kelly in the end zone on the game’s final play.
Kelly caught three passes for 110 yards, and Comer had five grabs for 58 yards.
All of those numbers — the Patriots totaled 388 yards of offense — resulted from a new offense. They shifted from what was essentially a four-wide, one-back set, to a two-tight end look with Comer and Ben Freeman flanking the offensive line and Gilbert in the backfield next to Locke.
“The one thing I was impressed with was that they put that offense in one week ...” said Southside coach Mike Paul. “I was shocked (by the offensive change). We weren’t prepared for that. What we were doing was we were playing ourselves. That’s our offense.”
Still, the Rebels (3-2) were in control early as they tossed short passes at will on the first two drives to take a 15-0 lead. Jay County scored on the first of Locke’s two touchdown runs to pull to within 15-7 before an insane second quarter.
There were 11 possessions in the second period, but just two points as Jay County tackled Kyle Cranmer in the end zone for a safety. That play came immediately after the Patriots fumbled at the Southside 2-yard line.
In all there were five turnovers in the period as the possessions ended three times on fumbles, three times with punts, twice on interceptions, twice on downs and once with the safety.
Southside quarterback Nick Robey increased the Southside lead to 23-9 with a 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter before the wild ending in the fourth.
Robey had more than 150 yards passing in the first half, finishing 20-of-29 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions.
Cranmer was held mostly in check on the ground as he rushed for just 37 yards on 15 carries, but he did catch seven passes for 91 yards. Southside managed just 77 yards on 27 rushing attempts.
“The first two (drives) we looked great,” said Paul. “And then we fell apart. We won the game, but I don’t know if we deserved to win the game.
“Really and truthfully I feel bad for (Jay County’s) kids.”
Jay County will host Connersville Friday at 7:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
In the end, the Patriots missed an extra point with no time on the clock to lose by a 30-29 score to the Muncie Southside Rebels Friday night.
“All I know is that I’m so proud of our kids,” said Jay County coach Shane Hill. “My goodness, the way they battled, the way they fought. Several times our backs were against the wall and they could have packed it in and quit, but they never did. ...
“I just love these kids to death with the heart they showed tonight. If we keep that up, we could be pretty dangerous in the end.”
Gilbert became just the third running back in Jay County history to run for more than 200 yards in a game, carrying the ball 22 times for 202 yards. He is the first runner in more than 20 years to do so, following Robin Finch (236 in 1981) and Jeff Alberson (206 in 1977).
He put the team on his back in the second half, often digging them out of huge yardage holes because of penalties or other losses. His runs included a 21-yard, fourth-down scoring scamper with 4:53 left and the two-point conversion that went with it to tie the game at 23-23.
But that was just the beginning of the craziness.
After each team punted, Muncie Southside got the ball back with 1:12 remaining and moved up 15 yards to the Jay County 35 after a personal foul on the first play. Nick Robey took advantage of the good field position, hitting Kyle Cranmer behind the defense for a 35-yard touchdown pass.
The extra point put the Rebels up 30-23 with 1:00 to play and more insanity yet to come.
The Patriots (1-4) had a long way to go starting at their own 28-yard line, but Cory Locke opened with a 27-yard pass up the middle to new tight end Corey Comer.
Locke was sacked for a yard loss on the next play, completed a pass to Comer for eight yards on second down, then spiked the ball on third down to stop the clock. An incomplete pass to Ben Freeman should have given the ball to Southside on downs, but there was confusion on the field and after a long discussion the officials gave the home team one more try — a phantom fifth down.
From the 38-yard line Locke tossed toward the end zone for an incomplete pass, but Jay County was granted yet another chance thanks to a pass interference penalty. The call came with no time remaining, resulting in a single, un-timed down.
With the ball at the 23-yard line, Locke scrambled to his left and waited for Mark Kelly to run from his wide out spot on the right side of the field. Kelly got to the middle of the end zone and caught Locke’s lob amidst three defenders for what could have been the tying score.
But, the extra down, the penalty and the acrobatic touchdown catch went for naught. The snap on the extra-point try was high, and although holder Adam Foster got it down, the hurried kick by Trent Bailey went off the crossbar and was no good.
Hill said he remembered 2003 while deciding to go for the extra point to try to give his team a chance to win in overtime.
“I wanted to go for the one, because last year against Muncie South we went for the two and didn’t get it,” he said. “I thought back to that day and to that time and even though I was trying to give the kids a chance to win the game then, I sure wanted to give them a chance to win the game (tonight). And I didn’t want to blow it by making a bad call.”
The best call of the night was the choice to keep giving the ball to Gilbert, who ran for 123 of his yards after the intermission. He ran for more than 10 yards eight times, with four of those plays going for more than 20 yards.
The junior did everything, outrunning the defense on occasion while also dragging mobs of defenders behind him for extra yardage.
“Justin Gilbert’s a game-breaker any time he gets the ball ...” said Hill, also giving a lot of credit to the offensive line. “He’s athletic and he’s got some moves when he gets in the open field. I think he showed those tonight.”
Locke also had a career game, tossing for more than 100 yards in the first half en route to a 9-of-18 performance for 176 yards. He ran for a touchdown in each half before hitting Kelly in the end zone on the game’s final play.
Kelly caught three passes for 110 yards, and Comer had five grabs for 58 yards.
All of those numbers — the Patriots totaled 388 yards of offense — resulted from a new offense. They shifted from what was essentially a four-wide, one-back set, to a two-tight end look with Comer and Ben Freeman flanking the offensive line and Gilbert in the backfield next to Locke.
“The one thing I was impressed with was that they put that offense in one week ...” said Southside coach Mike Paul. “I was shocked (by the offensive change). We weren’t prepared for that. What we were doing was we were playing ourselves. That’s our offense.”
Still, the Rebels (3-2) were in control early as they tossed short passes at will on the first two drives to take a 15-0 lead. Jay County scored on the first of Locke’s two touchdown runs to pull to within 15-7 before an insane second quarter.
There were 11 possessions in the second period, but just two points as Jay County tackled Kyle Cranmer in the end zone for a safety. That play came immediately after the Patriots fumbled at the Southside 2-yard line.
In all there were five turnovers in the period as the possessions ended three times on fumbles, three times with punts, twice on interceptions, twice on downs and once with the safety.
Southside quarterback Nick Robey increased the Southside lead to 23-9 with a 1-yard scoring run in the third quarter before the wild ending in the fourth.
Robey had more than 150 yards passing in the first half, finishing 20-of-29 for 213 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions.
Cranmer was held mostly in check on the ground as he rushed for just 37 yards on 15 carries, but he did catch seven passes for 91 yards. Southside managed just 77 yards on 27 rushing attempts.
“The first two (drives) we looked great,” said Paul. “And then we fell apart. We won the game, but I don’t know if we deserved to win the game.
“Really and truthfully I feel bad for (Jay County’s) kids.”
Jay County will host Connersville Friday at 7:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]
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