Turnovers crush Jay Co. (08/23/2008)

The turnover column said it all.

There were four on Jay County's side, none for the Delta Eagles.

Two of those turnovers came at the goal line, halting potential scoring drives for the Patriots.

Another led to a touchdown that allowed Delta to open a lead in the final minute of the first half.

Together they spelled the difference as Jay County dropped its 18th straight game to the Eagles 47-28 Friday night.

"Their defense made stops when they needed to," said JCHS coach Shane Hill lamenting an interception and a fumble both at the 1-yard line. "In the first half it was going to be whose defense stepped up and made a stop, and theirs did at a crucial time. There was a 14-point swing and we never recovered from that."

Both teams were marching down the field at will in the first half as the only drive in the first 18 minutes to stop without a score came when Patriot quarterback Billy Wellman was intercepted near the goal line by Greg Heban on the opening drive of the game. The result was a 21-19 Jay County lead before Garth Glore caught a 40-yard scoring pass from Delta quarterback Brooks Medaris with 7:07 left in the opening half.

Finally a defense stood up with Delta forcing a Jay County punt, and four plays later the Eagles were in the end zone again on the second of Kyle Stevens' three scoring runs. The Patriots scored to pull within 33-28 with 1:44 remaining, and then forced a three-and-out. But they couldn't capitalize thanks to the second critical turnover.

On the first play of the ensuing drive, Tyler Funk tipped a Wellman pass and then intercepted it himself to give Delta the ball back with 46 seconds left in the half. So, instead of JCHS driving to try to take the lead, Delta was in the end zone two plays later on an 8-yard run by Stevens.

The Patriots still had a chance to stay in the game after giving up a TD on the opening drive of the second half, but their fourth and final turnover halted that attempt. Senior running back Lance Franklin fumbled on a first-and-goal carry from the 3-yard line, and Jeremy Russel of Delta recovered.

"We got a fumble down there and we got a pick down there," said Delta coach Grant Zgunda. "But offensively, we came in thinking we may have to score. And there for a while, it sure seemed to be that way."

Delta picked up 375 of its 506 total yards of offense in the first half, led by Stevens on the ground and a multi-faceted air attack.

Stevens had just three carries go for double-digit yards, but punished the Patriots with 5-to-7-yard runs to total 147 yards on 22 carries. Five of Greg Heban's eight rushing attempts went for double-digit yards, including a 13-yard TD in the first quarter, as he finished with 77 on the ground.

Medaris hit six different receivers and finished 8-of-15 for 236 yards. Teddy Dawson, who also rushed seven times for 50 yards, led the receiving group with two catches for 84 yards.

"He's a senior, and he's paid his dues, and he's good," said Zgunda of Medaris, who was making his first start. "He's a kid who could have very easily been our starter last year. I thought he managed a great game ...

"He didn't force anything, which shows his maturity. I was pretty confident he'd come out and play well.

"I think (Stevens is) huge. I wouldn't want to tackle him. ... When he runs with a good forward lean and downhill like he did tonight ... he's going to have some big games."

Jay County also did the majority of its damage in the first two quarters, gaining 284 of its 392 total yards before the intermission.

It all hinged on Wellman, who cleared the 100-yard mark on the ground and through the air. He carried the ball 11 times for 113 yards, and completed 13-of-28 passes for 149 yards.

Dexter Shreve had four receptions for 80 yards, including a take-away from Heban to turn what should have been an interception into a 43-yard gain. He also returned a first-quarter kickoff 87 yards for a touchdown.

"Billy made some mistakes, but I really thought he stepped up his play tonight," said Hill, "scrambling, finding open people, putting the ball in the right place.

"We know he's a weapon," he added of Shreve, who was a state finalist in the long jump this spring as well as a standout in the high jump and 400-meter dash. "People are going to have to respect him."

Lance Franklin added 69 yards on the ground on 10 carries, and Michael Daniels ran eight times for 51 yards.

Hill said the key would be that JCHS, which last defeated Delta in 1992, learns from the loss as it did last season.

"Now we've just got to bounce back for week two against Blackford and be ready for sectional time," he said. "Until someone else wins a sectional we're still defending Sectional 12 champ and we started 0-1 last year.

"Overall, I would've liked to have come out with a win, but we'll take the learning that we got from this and we'll get better every week."[[In-content Ad]]