July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
No. 1 Saints halt JC (11/12/07)
JCHS football
No. 1 Saints halt JC (11/12/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
FORT WAYNE - It was the best season in the history of Jay County High School football. But it will be the Saints who go marching on.
Bishop Dwenger showed off the talent that has them ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, rolling out to a 42-0 lead in a 42-14 victory over the Patriots in Saturday's regional championship game at Zollner Field.
"We came out and had a very solid first half," said Bishop Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopf, whose team has beaten its four tournament opponents by a combined 178-49. "The defense played great. To have no points on the board and have the field position that our offense had is just a tribute to our defense.
"We got better in some areas. I thought our kick coverage was a little better. Our defensive pressure was very good. The offense varied things up quite a bit, showed that we're not all run. I thought it was a step forward."
The Saints (13-0) made the decision to go on defense to start the game pay off.
With some help thanks to a holding penalty on the kickoff, Bishop Dwenger pinned the Patriots at the 11-yard line, forced a three-and-out and started their own opening drive 34 yards from the end zone after a short punt. It took the Saints just two plays to score when quarterback John Goodman, who is headed to play receiver at Notre Dame next season, hit Tyler Eifert with a 28-yard touchdown pass.
Bishop Dwenger started its second drive at the Patriot 24-yard line, and began five of its first six at its own 40-yard line or better.
"We thought we could do that," said Svarczkopf of the good field position. "A lot of times if you can get a good kick, and we did - Danny (Khorshid) kicked the ball down there nice, we got good coverage and then the defense held - sometimes you're better off than if you receive."
Even so, Jay County had a chance to even the score when senior defensive end Jon Rodeffer stopped the Saints' second drive with a fumble recovery just two yards from the end zone. Two plays later quarterback Billy Wellman hooked up with junior classmate Dexter Shreve for a 57-yard strike down the left sideline. And then on third-and-10 from the Bishop Dwenger 30-yard line the Patriots seemed to have the tying touchdown as Shreve broke into the clear at the 10-yard line, but the ball slipped through his hands forcing a punt.
Goodman quickly cashed in with a 75-yard pass down the right side to an uncovered Matt Maringer for a 14-0 lead.
Jay County forced two punts to start the second quarter, but fumbled on each of its first two drives in that period.
The second of those was followed by a 43-yard TD run from Goodman, who later hit a first-down pass on a fake punt setting up another scoring run for a 28-0 advantage.
The Patriots (9-4) got in scoring range twice in the final four minutes of the half, but potential TD passes to Shreve, BrandonâReynard and Adam Garringer all fell incomplete.
"I'm sure we're going to look back at the film of the first two quarters and go "Oh my gosh, what could have been if we hadn't done this, if we hadn't done that,'" said JCHS coach Shane Hill. "We had a coverage breakdown, a fake punt for a first down, the ball goes through our hands. It snowballed in a hurry on us.
"We knew it wasn't going to come easy ... and I don't think our kids ever quit. It was a disappointing night, and in the same token I was real proud of our kids."
Bishop Dwenger added two more TDs in the third quarter - a 23-yard pass from Goodman to Robby Kimes and a 5-yard run by back-up quarterback Trevor Yerrick - to go up 42-0 before the Patriots got on the board in the fourth quarter. Goodman finished 10-of-15 through the air for 207 yards while adding 74 yards on the ground, and Eifert caught five of his passes for 62 yards.
"John's a special player," said Svarczkopf. "He realized as well as everybody did that this was the last time he was ever going to play here. ... I thought they put in a great first half."
The Saints will move on to play in the semi-state championship Friday at No. 6 Lowell (12-1), which knocked off Griffith 20-13 Friday night. Lowell's only loss came by a 29-28 score to Griffith during the regular season.
Jay County drove for its first touchdown behind senior Aaron Daniels, who took over at quarterback late in the third quarter after junior Billy Wellman took a couple of big hits. Daniels carried five times for 28 yards, including a gutsy eight-yard scramble to the 1-yard line to set up Michael Jobe's TD run with 7:32 to play.
Kyle Cook capped his career by recovering a fumble forced by Rodeffer and returning it 55 yards with just over a minute left in the game.
"(We were able to give Daniels) a chance as a senior to go out there and play a position that he really does like to play," said Hill. "He really wanted that score on the scramble, but we ended up getting Jobe in the end zone. And then Kyle picking up the fumble and (scoring), it just shows the heart of our kids and their never-say-die attitude."
It was a historic season for Jay County football, which won its first sectional title 34-21 over Olympic Athletic Conference rival Muncie Southside. It was just three third appearance in a sectional finale for the team in 33 years.
The 9-4 final record also tied the mark for wins in a regular season set by the 1981 team, which finished 9-1.
The team's effort this year was honored by a standing ovation from the Patriot fan base, most of which was still there until the final buzzer despite cold and the lop-sided score.
"It was outstanding," said Hill of the 2007 season. "The first sectional title in school history is an amazing thing to build upon. The wins made the season enjoyable, but this kids made the season enjoyable. ... This is a great group of kids, a great group of parents, a very supportive community."
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Bishop Dwenger showed off the talent that has them ranked No. 1 in Class 4A, rolling out to a 42-0 lead in a 42-14 victory over the Patriots in Saturday's regional championship game at Zollner Field.
"We came out and had a very solid first half," said Bishop Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopf, whose team has beaten its four tournament opponents by a combined 178-49. "The defense played great. To have no points on the board and have the field position that our offense had is just a tribute to our defense.
"We got better in some areas. I thought our kick coverage was a little better. Our defensive pressure was very good. The offense varied things up quite a bit, showed that we're not all run. I thought it was a step forward."
The Saints (13-0) made the decision to go on defense to start the game pay off.
With some help thanks to a holding penalty on the kickoff, Bishop Dwenger pinned the Patriots at the 11-yard line, forced a three-and-out and started their own opening drive 34 yards from the end zone after a short punt. It took the Saints just two plays to score when quarterback John Goodman, who is headed to play receiver at Notre Dame next season, hit Tyler Eifert with a 28-yard touchdown pass.
Bishop Dwenger started its second drive at the Patriot 24-yard line, and began five of its first six at its own 40-yard line or better.
"We thought we could do that," said Svarczkopf of the good field position. "A lot of times if you can get a good kick, and we did - Danny (Khorshid) kicked the ball down there nice, we got good coverage and then the defense held - sometimes you're better off than if you receive."
Even so, Jay County had a chance to even the score when senior defensive end Jon Rodeffer stopped the Saints' second drive with a fumble recovery just two yards from the end zone. Two plays later quarterback Billy Wellman hooked up with junior classmate Dexter Shreve for a 57-yard strike down the left sideline. And then on third-and-10 from the Bishop Dwenger 30-yard line the Patriots seemed to have the tying touchdown as Shreve broke into the clear at the 10-yard line, but the ball slipped through his hands forcing a punt.
Goodman quickly cashed in with a 75-yard pass down the right side to an uncovered Matt Maringer for a 14-0 lead.
Jay County forced two punts to start the second quarter, but fumbled on each of its first two drives in that period.
The second of those was followed by a 43-yard TD run from Goodman, who later hit a first-down pass on a fake punt setting up another scoring run for a 28-0 advantage.
The Patriots (9-4) got in scoring range twice in the final four minutes of the half, but potential TD passes to Shreve, BrandonâReynard and Adam Garringer all fell incomplete.
"I'm sure we're going to look back at the film of the first two quarters and go "Oh my gosh, what could have been if we hadn't done this, if we hadn't done that,'" said JCHS coach Shane Hill. "We had a coverage breakdown, a fake punt for a first down, the ball goes through our hands. It snowballed in a hurry on us.
"We knew it wasn't going to come easy ... and I don't think our kids ever quit. It was a disappointing night, and in the same token I was real proud of our kids."
Bishop Dwenger added two more TDs in the third quarter - a 23-yard pass from Goodman to Robby Kimes and a 5-yard run by back-up quarterback Trevor Yerrick - to go up 42-0 before the Patriots got on the board in the fourth quarter. Goodman finished 10-of-15 through the air for 207 yards while adding 74 yards on the ground, and Eifert caught five of his passes for 62 yards.
"John's a special player," said Svarczkopf. "He realized as well as everybody did that this was the last time he was ever going to play here. ... I thought they put in a great first half."
The Saints will move on to play in the semi-state championship Friday at No. 6 Lowell (12-1), which knocked off Griffith 20-13 Friday night. Lowell's only loss came by a 29-28 score to Griffith during the regular season.
Jay County drove for its first touchdown behind senior Aaron Daniels, who took over at quarterback late in the third quarter after junior Billy Wellman took a couple of big hits. Daniels carried five times for 28 yards, including a gutsy eight-yard scramble to the 1-yard line to set up Michael Jobe's TD run with 7:32 to play.
Kyle Cook capped his career by recovering a fumble forced by Rodeffer and returning it 55 yards with just over a minute left in the game.
"(We were able to give Daniels) a chance as a senior to go out there and play a position that he really does like to play," said Hill. "He really wanted that score on the scramble, but we ended up getting Jobe in the end zone. And then Kyle picking up the fumble and (scoring), it just shows the heart of our kids and their never-say-die attitude."
It was a historic season for Jay County football, which won its first sectional title 34-21 over Olympic Athletic Conference rival Muncie Southside. It was just three third appearance in a sectional finale for the team in 33 years.
The 9-4 final record also tied the mark for wins in a regular season set by the 1981 team, which finished 9-1.
The team's effort this year was honored by a standing ovation from the Patriot fan base, most of which was still there until the final buzzer despite cold and the lop-sided score.
"It was outstanding," said Hill of the 2007 season. "The first sectional title in school history is an amazing thing to build upon. The wins made the season enjoyable, but this kids made the season enjoyable. ... This is a great group of kids, a great group of parents, a very supportive community."
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