Jay loses to Raiders, now 0-3 (09/06/03)

PORTLAND — Jay County finally snapped its scoreless streak. Unfortunately, it didn’t matter.

The Patriots ended their 13-quarter run of scoreless football in the second quarter, but turned the ball over five times and gave up two 80-plus yard kickoff returns in the first half on the way to a 47-25 defeat to the Southern Wells Raiders Friday.

“We waited too late to start playing,” said Jay County coach Shane Hill, whose team lost by 22 despite outgaining the Raiders by 75 yards. “I knew we’d wear them down, and that showed in the third quarter. In the first half, we couldn’t get them on the ropes.”

Instead, it was the Patriots who were left staggering like a punch-drunk fighter as Daniel Stauffer and the rest of the Southern Wells crew hit them with everything they had.

Stauffer did the damage quickly, returning the opening kickoff 84 yards for a Raider touchdown. He fielded the ball on the left side of the field, slanted back to the right behind an awesome wall of blocking, trotted by kicker Trent Bailey, and outran everyone else to the goal line.

It marked the second time this season Southern Wells had opened a game with a kickoff return for a score, as Trace Craig did the same in the opener against Blackford with a 76-yard return. The Bruins rallied to dominate the rest of that contest, but Jay County would have a very different fate.

The Patriots’ first drive ended on a harmless punt, and Southern Wells (2-1) drove all the way to the Jay County 4-yard line before coughing the ball up on a fumble. However, on the second play of the ensuing drive came the first of five turnovers as quarterback Cory Locke was intercepted by Cliff Roush.

Roush had a fairly easy return, breaking one tackle at the goal line for a 14-0 lead.

There was hope for Jay County when Locke broke through with a 1-yard scoring run on the next drive. It ended 13 scoreless quarters by the Patriots, dating back to last season’s 20-0 sectional semifinal loss to Muncie Central.

The emotional high ended in a flash, however, as Stauffer took another kickoff back for a touchdown. He followed the same route as on his first score, sidestepping Bailey near midfield and cruising to the end zone.

“We’d only seen their (kickoff) play once on tape,” said Stauffer. “We just knew there was a big hole on that side. The guys were blocking their butts off. I see the hole, I run.”

Hill said his team made adjustments, but still overran the play to allow the Raiders to put up their blocking wall.

“We moved everybody down, but our guys still pinched inside,” he said. “Special teams is one-third of the ball game, and they obviously won that third of it.”

The next four Jay County possessions ended in three fumbles and a punt, and two of the ensuing scoring drives by Southern Wells lasted just one play. The Raiders scored 26 points in the second quarter, including a pair of touchdowns in the final 2:14 for a 40-6 halftime lead.

The Patriots (0-3) dominated the second half, but it was far too little far too late, and Adam Russell sealed the win with a 4-yard touchdown run early in the final period.

All of Southern Wells’s 275 total yards came on the ground, with Stauffer carrying seven times for 97 yards, including three runs of more than 20 yards. Craig ran 18 times for 82 yards, and Russell carried 10 times for 69 yards.

“In the first half we took care of every opportunity they gave us,” said Raider coach Mark Lefebvre. “We never had to go anywhere. We recovered fumbles inside the 40-yard line back-to-back. We were very opportunistic.”

Jay County tried to rally in the second half, getting third-quarter touchdowns from Alex Loucks and Ryan Younts. They let the Raiders off the hook late in the third quarter.

Southern Wells faced a third-and-21 after a pair of false start penalties, but Russell converted the first down with a 40-yard keeper around the left end. The run led to his second touchdown of the game four plays later and effectively ended the game.

Loucks led the Patriots with 113 yards on 22 carries, and Locke, Younts and Michael Myers each had more than 35 yards on the ground. Locke went 8-of-18 passing for 89 yards.

The Patriots simply could not overcome the turnovers — they fumbled seven times and lost four of them — and kick returns. They have now given the ball away 13 times in three games.

Jay County is at home for the third straight game next week when it opens the Olympic Athletic Conference schedule against the unbeaten Anderson Highland Scots at 7:30 p.m.[[In-content Ad]]