July 23, 2014 at 2:10 p.m.
The road to No. 1 (11/06/07)
JCHS football
The road to No. 1 (11/06/07)
By By RAY COONEY-
The ultimate goal for every team is a state championship. But on occasion, the biggest challenge of the year comes earlier.
Such is the case for the Jay County High School football team, which, in order to reach the ultimate goal, will have to first go through Class 4A's ultimate team. That squad is the No. 1-ranked, defending regional champion Bishop Dwenger Saints (12-0), who the Patriots will visit for Saturday's regional championship game at 7 p.m.
There remains plenty of time to break down the match-up against the Summit Athletic Conference champions, who are in the midst of their third consecutive double-digit win season. And with the biggest game in JCHS history looming, it's time to look back at the road the Patriots traveled on they way to the showdown with No. 1.
Delta 28, Jay County 18
The Patriots had hopes of an undefeated season, kicked off by their first win over Delta since the early 1990s. But three first-half turnovers and a bad snap on a punt helped the host Eagles roll out to a 28-6 halftime lead.
It was a disappointing loss at the time, but turned out to be the closest game Delta played in its 8-0 start.
Jay County 27, Blackford 12
Lightning postponed the game midway through the first quarter, but the Patriots rolled a day later behind a pair of second-half touchdown passes from back-up quarterback Aaron Daniels after starter Billy Wellman suffered a concussion. The JCHS defense allowed just 95 yards of total offense.
Jay County 19, Franklin County 0
A defensive struggle through most of the first three quarters turned into a solid Patriot win with three touchdowns in the final 14 minutes. Daniels ran for all three scores, and completed all of his four second-half pass attempts for 87 yards.
The victory was the first over Franklin County in three tries, and marked Jay County's first shutout in five seasons.
Anderson Highland 17,
Jay County 0
The Patriots entered the season riding back-to-back Olympic Athletic Conference championships, but hopes for a third in a row disappeared quickly as Highland's defense turned in a stellar performance. The Scots put the game away with a 71-yard drive lasting 7:09.
This Jay County team, which started the season with such high hopes, began to hear questions as it sat with a .500 record through four games.
"We thought we had a pretty decent team," said coach Shane Hill. "We thought it was one we might be able to run the table on, and we come out and we go 2-2 and make the mistakes we made in the Delta game and then just not produce offensively in the Highland game. We thought we were in for some growing pains."
Losses are never fun, but as it turned out, they came against a couple of very good teams. Delta and Highland combined to finish 16-5, with losses to then-unbeaten Shelbyville and state-ranked Chatard.
"I still felt we had a chance," said lineman Baxter Holdcroft. "Even though we got beat by Delta and beat by Highland, they were games we could have won."
Senior safety Clint Muhlenkamp said the hints of doubt only fueled the team's fire.
"We don't take criticism too easily. We don't like it," he said. "But we hear it and then we want to make sure we follow through and make it better and fix things. And we did fix things."
Jay County 27,
Muncie Southside 25
In a game that stands out as the most exciting of the year, the teams combined for five touchdowns in the fourth quarter. One was set up by a blocked punt, another came on an interception return and two occurred in the final 45 seconds.
After giving up the lead, the Patriots hurried down the field and won the game on a 41-yard strike from Wellman to Brandon Reynard with 5.9 seconds remaining. Oh yes, and before the winning play, the sprinklers went off causing a delay of several minutes.
"We were losing there towards the end," said Reynard, of the game the players point to as the turning point of the season, "and with 44 seconds left we come down, we get sprinklers, and we manage to pull it off."
"We had to come together as a team, and we did it," added Holdcroft of the Patriots, who trailed 19-7 early in the fourth quarter. "I think it made us closer."
Even had Jay County lost to the Rebels it would have strung together some wins, as evidenced by blowouts in the next two games. (Incidentally, Southside eventually recovered to win five in a row and meet the Patriots again in the sectional finale.) But, the victory taught this team a lot.
"It showed us that it's never over til it's over," said Hill. "This group is going to continue to battle until the fourth quarter is done. It also showed us that we have the ability to come back, big-strike ability ...
"The confidence boost that it gave us ... really did catapult our kids into believing that we are a pretty good football team."
Jay County 47, Connersville 9
A 6-3 game early turned ugly as the Patriots scored 28 consecutive points. Reynard had another big game, taking a shot pass from Wellman 73 yards for a touchdown and adding another TD with an 89-yard kickoff return.
Jay County 40, Winchester 19
Homecoming was a time to celebrate as Jay County led all the way behind 80-plus-yard rushing efforts from Michael Jobe and Lance Franklin.
Winchester had a chance to tie in the third quarter, but Franklin came up with the first of his two key fourth-down tackles and the Patriots pulled away.
Back-to-back 40-point games had the Patriots rolling once again at 5-2 with their biggest test of the second-half of the season up next.
East Chicago Central 34,
Jay County 20
The visiting Cardinals represent the only blemish for Jay County in its last eight games thanks to a dominating second half and 20 unanswered points to end the game. The Patriots had a 20-14 lead, but an interception return for a score tied the score and Michael Smith controlled the second half as he lead ECC with 204 rushing yards on 24 carries.
Jay County 28,
Greenfield-Central 13
For the fifth straight season Jay County won its regular-season finale, putting together second half drives of 13 and nine plays to finish off the host Cougars. The Patriots never trailed after scoring twice in the first four minutes.
"We finished off well with Greenfield-Central," said Hill. "You've got to have that kind of momentum heading into the sectional."
Sectional quarterfinal
Jay County 49,
Muncie Central 29
Throwing records out the door, the Patriots were looking for a little vengeance after falling 6-0 to Central in the 2006 sectional semifinal round. They got it thanks to 474 yards of offense, including 350 on the ground.
Wellman, Jobe and Franklin all cleared the 100-yard mark as the Patriots posted their highest point total of the season.
"Even though Muncie Central was 1-8, I think beating Muncie Central (was important) the way that we beat them in a very convincing manner," said Hill. "To know that they were a team, along with Delta, that had been controlling Sectional 12, and for us to put them out in the tournament first round and to do it in the fashion in which we did was a big game for us."
Sectional semifinal
Jay County 23, New Castle 16
A blocked punt by Kyle Cook led to a safety to pull visiting Jay County within 16-15. Bryce DeBoy's return on the ensuing free kick left the Patriots with just 32 yards to travel, and Jobe capped the short drive with a 7-yard TD run.
In all Jobe ran 28 times for 137 yards, 100 of which came in the second half.
Although New Castle entered at just 4-6, this win was enormous as it sent JCHS to just its third sectional championship game in school history.
Sectional championship
Jay County 34,
Muncie Southside 21
Two touchdowns in the span of less than a minute - the second was set up by an interception - early in the second quarter gave the Patriots a lead they would never relinquish. Southside made a push in the second half, but Franklin's 39-yard touchdown run with 1:48 remaining wrapped up Jay County's first sectional title in school history.
And now comes No. 1, Jay County (9-3) at Bishop Dwenger (12-0), with a berth in Class 4A's Final Four on the line.
Hill met with Bishop Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopff to exchange tapes, complimenting the Saints' talented team during the conversation.
"There's only four of us left in the northern part of the state," responded Svarczkopf. "We're all pretty good."
That's the message Hill is passing on to his team as they look forward to the next stop of the 2007 season.
He's reminding the Patriots that Central had Dwenger down late in the fourth quarter last season before the Saints rallied for a 26-24 victory and the regional title.
He's pointing out that Jay County lost to that Central team just 6-0 two weeks earlier.
And most importantly, he's making sure his Patriots understand the reality of of the Bishop Dwenger coach's words. They are one of only four teams left this side of Hamilton County, and one of those four will play for a state title.
"One of us are going to represent the north down at the dome," Hill said, recalling his conversation with Svarczkopf. "It never really dawned on me that there's only three other teams up here in the northern part of the state playing football in our class.
"We don't have to beat Dwenger 10 times, we have to beat them once. We have to play four quarters of football on one given evening, and we just have to play better than them one time. If we played them 10 times, how many times would be beat them? I don't know, but we only really need to beat them once."
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Such is the case for the Jay County High School football team, which, in order to reach the ultimate goal, will have to first go through Class 4A's ultimate team. That squad is the No. 1-ranked, defending regional champion Bishop Dwenger Saints (12-0), who the Patriots will visit for Saturday's regional championship game at 7 p.m.
There remains plenty of time to break down the match-up against the Summit Athletic Conference champions, who are in the midst of their third consecutive double-digit win season. And with the biggest game in JCHS history looming, it's time to look back at the road the Patriots traveled on they way to the showdown with No. 1.
Delta 28, Jay County 18
The Patriots had hopes of an undefeated season, kicked off by their first win over Delta since the early 1990s. But three first-half turnovers and a bad snap on a punt helped the host Eagles roll out to a 28-6 halftime lead.
It was a disappointing loss at the time, but turned out to be the closest game Delta played in its 8-0 start.
Jay County 27, Blackford 12
Lightning postponed the game midway through the first quarter, but the Patriots rolled a day later behind a pair of second-half touchdown passes from back-up quarterback Aaron Daniels after starter Billy Wellman suffered a concussion. The JCHS defense allowed just 95 yards of total offense.
Jay County 19, Franklin County 0
A defensive struggle through most of the first three quarters turned into a solid Patriot win with three touchdowns in the final 14 minutes. Daniels ran for all three scores, and completed all of his four second-half pass attempts for 87 yards.
The victory was the first over Franklin County in three tries, and marked Jay County's first shutout in five seasons.
Anderson Highland 17,
Jay County 0
The Patriots entered the season riding back-to-back Olympic Athletic Conference championships, but hopes for a third in a row disappeared quickly as Highland's defense turned in a stellar performance. The Scots put the game away with a 71-yard drive lasting 7:09.
This Jay County team, which started the season with such high hopes, began to hear questions as it sat with a .500 record through four games.
"We thought we had a pretty decent team," said coach Shane Hill. "We thought it was one we might be able to run the table on, and we come out and we go 2-2 and make the mistakes we made in the Delta game and then just not produce offensively in the Highland game. We thought we were in for some growing pains."
Losses are never fun, but as it turned out, they came against a couple of very good teams. Delta and Highland combined to finish 16-5, with losses to then-unbeaten Shelbyville and state-ranked Chatard.
"I still felt we had a chance," said lineman Baxter Holdcroft. "Even though we got beat by Delta and beat by Highland, they were games we could have won."
Senior safety Clint Muhlenkamp said the hints of doubt only fueled the team's fire.
"We don't take criticism too easily. We don't like it," he said. "But we hear it and then we want to make sure we follow through and make it better and fix things. And we did fix things."
Jay County 27,
Muncie Southside 25
In a game that stands out as the most exciting of the year, the teams combined for five touchdowns in the fourth quarter. One was set up by a blocked punt, another came on an interception return and two occurred in the final 45 seconds.
After giving up the lead, the Patriots hurried down the field and won the game on a 41-yard strike from Wellman to Brandon Reynard with 5.9 seconds remaining. Oh yes, and before the winning play, the sprinklers went off causing a delay of several minutes.
"We were losing there towards the end," said Reynard, of the game the players point to as the turning point of the season, "and with 44 seconds left we come down, we get sprinklers, and we manage to pull it off."
"We had to come together as a team, and we did it," added Holdcroft of the Patriots, who trailed 19-7 early in the fourth quarter. "I think it made us closer."
Even had Jay County lost to the Rebels it would have strung together some wins, as evidenced by blowouts in the next two games. (Incidentally, Southside eventually recovered to win five in a row and meet the Patriots again in the sectional finale.) But, the victory taught this team a lot.
"It showed us that it's never over til it's over," said Hill. "This group is going to continue to battle until the fourth quarter is done. It also showed us that we have the ability to come back, big-strike ability ...
"The confidence boost that it gave us ... really did catapult our kids into believing that we are a pretty good football team."
Jay County 47, Connersville 9
A 6-3 game early turned ugly as the Patriots scored 28 consecutive points. Reynard had another big game, taking a shot pass from Wellman 73 yards for a touchdown and adding another TD with an 89-yard kickoff return.
Jay County 40, Winchester 19
Homecoming was a time to celebrate as Jay County led all the way behind 80-plus-yard rushing efforts from Michael Jobe and Lance Franklin.
Winchester had a chance to tie in the third quarter, but Franklin came up with the first of his two key fourth-down tackles and the Patriots pulled away.
Back-to-back 40-point games had the Patriots rolling once again at 5-2 with their biggest test of the second-half of the season up next.
East Chicago Central 34,
Jay County 20
The visiting Cardinals represent the only blemish for Jay County in its last eight games thanks to a dominating second half and 20 unanswered points to end the game. The Patriots had a 20-14 lead, but an interception return for a score tied the score and Michael Smith controlled the second half as he lead ECC with 204 rushing yards on 24 carries.
Jay County 28,
Greenfield-Central 13
For the fifth straight season Jay County won its regular-season finale, putting together second half drives of 13 and nine plays to finish off the host Cougars. The Patriots never trailed after scoring twice in the first four minutes.
"We finished off well with Greenfield-Central," said Hill. "You've got to have that kind of momentum heading into the sectional."
Sectional quarterfinal
Jay County 49,
Muncie Central 29
Throwing records out the door, the Patriots were looking for a little vengeance after falling 6-0 to Central in the 2006 sectional semifinal round. They got it thanks to 474 yards of offense, including 350 on the ground.
Wellman, Jobe and Franklin all cleared the 100-yard mark as the Patriots posted their highest point total of the season.
"Even though Muncie Central was 1-8, I think beating Muncie Central (was important) the way that we beat them in a very convincing manner," said Hill. "To know that they were a team, along with Delta, that had been controlling Sectional 12, and for us to put them out in the tournament first round and to do it in the fashion in which we did was a big game for us."
Sectional semifinal
Jay County 23, New Castle 16
A blocked punt by Kyle Cook led to a safety to pull visiting Jay County within 16-15. Bryce DeBoy's return on the ensuing free kick left the Patriots with just 32 yards to travel, and Jobe capped the short drive with a 7-yard TD run.
In all Jobe ran 28 times for 137 yards, 100 of which came in the second half.
Although New Castle entered at just 4-6, this win was enormous as it sent JCHS to just its third sectional championship game in school history.
Sectional championship
Jay County 34,
Muncie Southside 21
Two touchdowns in the span of less than a minute - the second was set up by an interception - early in the second quarter gave the Patriots a lead they would never relinquish. Southside made a push in the second half, but Franklin's 39-yard touchdown run with 1:48 remaining wrapped up Jay County's first sectional title in school history.
And now comes No. 1, Jay County (9-3) at Bishop Dwenger (12-0), with a berth in Class 4A's Final Four on the line.
Hill met with Bishop Dwenger coach Chris Svarczkopff to exchange tapes, complimenting the Saints' talented team during the conversation.
"There's only four of us left in the northern part of the state," responded Svarczkopf. "We're all pretty good."
That's the message Hill is passing on to his team as they look forward to the next stop of the 2007 season.
He's reminding the Patriots that Central had Dwenger down late in the fourth quarter last season before the Saints rallied for a 26-24 victory and the regional title.
He's pointing out that Jay County lost to that Central team just 6-0 two weeks earlier.
And most importantly, he's making sure his Patriots understand the reality of of the Bishop Dwenger coach's words. They are one of only four teams left this side of Hamilton County, and one of those four will play for a state title.
"One of us are going to represent the north down at the dome," Hill said, recalling his conversation with Svarczkopf. "It never really dawned on me that there's only three other teams up here in the northern part of the state playing football in our class.
"We don't have to beat Dwenger 10 times, we have to beat them once. We have to play four quarters of football on one given evening, and we just have to play better than them one time. If we played them 10 times, how many times would be beat them? I don't know, but we only really need to beat them once."
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