Saints await JC (11/10/07)

"It's amazing. It's almost like it's not really, real."

That's what Jay County football coach Shane Hill thought after his team topped Muncie Southside 34-21 in last week's sectional championship game. But when he woke up a week ago today and walked into his kitchen, he saw the sectional championship trophy sitting on the counter.

"Hey, it wasn't a dream," he said to his wife, "the trophy's still (here)."

The first sectional championship in 33 years of JCHS football was a reality.

The reality tonight is this: Jay County (9-3) at Class 4A No. 1 Bishop Dwenger (12-0) for the regional championship.

"I think the mentality is good," said senior cornerback and team captain Aaron Daniels, who had an interception and a fumble recovery against Southside last week. "We haven't done anything different this week just because they're the No. 1 team in the state. We go to practice every day and put on the pads just like they do. We're going to go out there and give it our all (tonight), and hopefully walk away with the W."

"If we didn't think we were going to win, we wouldn't go up there and play them. There's no point in that," added junior linebacker Lance Franklin, who ranks 10th in the state with 132 tackles. "Someone's got to win, and I think we've got just as good a shot as they do."

There is no doubt the Saints provide a unique challenge.

They are the No. 1 team in Class 4A according to the poll by The Associated Press, and are ranked No. 2 by the Sagarin Ratings and No. 3 by calpreps.com.

They scored at least 42 points in all three of their sectional games while giving up just a total of 35.

They own wins over three other teams - 5A Snider, 3A Concordia and 2A Bishop Luers - who also won sectional titles.

John Goodman, their receiver-turned-quarterback, is headed to play at Notre Dame next year.

And they are the defending regional champions.

All that being said, Jay County enters the game with an idea of what they're up against after having played perennial power Indianapolis Cathedral during the 2005 and '06 seasons. Hill said he doesn't think Dwenger has the same kind of depth and overall talent as Cathedral, but having played the Fighting Irish will help his kids in readying themselves the Saints.

"They know that it's going to be a challenge," he said. "They know they're going to have to play mistake-free football as far as the mental game goes and as far as the turnover game goes.

"(Bishop Dwenger has) got some places where we're going to be able to attack. ... Looking back at the Cathedral films, I'm not sure there was a place to attack that team.

It's going to be a challenge, there's no doubt ... but there's only (four teams playing) so we're all pretty darn good.

"The challenge is to go out and play four quarters of football - it doesn't matter who you play - and play the best ball that you can at tournament time in order to advance."

The most eye-popping stats for Bishop Dwenger come not from Goodwin - he and Jay County quarterback Billy Wellman have similar yardage and touchdown numbers - but from tailback Jemarkis Willis. The senior averages 8.3 yards per carry (1,315 for the season) and has scored 25 touchdowns.

The Patriots counter with Michael Jobe, who has gained 1,015 yards this year on an average of 6.0 yards per run. He has scored 15 touchdowns.

Wellman has tossed for 1,330 yards and 13 TDs compared to Goodman's 1,337 yards and 12 TDs. Each team has three receivers with 18 or more receptions.

"They have some people that we have to be concerned about," said Hill. "But I think our defense is one that gets 11 hats to the football, and when you get 11 hats to the football, you're going to make some plays. So even though we have some guys we need to shut down, I think we have the personnel to do it."

Added Daniels: "I think the key to the game is going to be our fundamentals, and our team speed. Our defense flies all over the field. We make plays. ... We play as one, not as individuals."

On the defensive side of the ball - Matt Tippmann leads the team with 88 tackles while Greg Svarczkopf adds 81 tackles and nine sacks - Hill says he is reminded of Delta. The Saints play a five-man defensive line with two linebackers and four defensive backs.

"They come after the passer pretty well," Hill said. "But they have some holes in their zone that we can take advantage of if we can protect the passer.

"They're going to be well-disciplined ... but I think we have a really good game plan going in and if we execute it the way that we should I think we have a great chance of winning."

That's the mantra of the Patriots this week. They're not worried about the number that accompanies the Bishop Dwenger name.

Despite some of the lop-sided predictions - both the Sagarin ratings and calpreps.com have the Saints favored by at least four TDs - they believe in themselves. The know what it was like to raise the sectional trophy for the first time in school history, and believe they are capable of doing the same with the regional nameplate, regardless of who they're stepping on the field against.

"I think it would be great to win it," said Franklin. "We're obviously the underdogs, so all the pressure's on them. We just have to go out and play our game ..."

"It's just been fun," added Hill of this week's atmosphere. "It's fun to see the community get behind us and fun to see the kids excited about football ... If we're going all the way up to Fort Wayne for a football game, we might as well win it."[[In-content Ad]]