Wellman racks up records (09/06/2008)

Harold E. Schutz Memorial Stadium saw some prolific passing offenses in the late 1990s.

Twice Brad Bennett threw for a school record 398 yards. Twice he tossed four touchdown passes in a game, tying the school record.

Friday night, Billy Wellman did all that and more.

Jay County's senior quarterback annihilated the team record for TD passes in a game with seven in the first half. On his first, and only, passing attempt of the second half he snapped the mark for yards in a game.

His record performance, aided by senior receivers Dexter Shreve, Brandon Reynard and Adam Garringer, and supported by an improved effort on defense gave the Patriots their first win of the season 56-25 over the visiting Franklin County Wildcats (1-2).

"It's cool, but I really didn't have to do anything special," said Wellman. "I just threw it to the guys who were open. I had all day back there today, so it worked out nicely."

Wellman threw TD passes to Garringer and Shreve in the first quarter, but his run to the record truly began after the Patriot defense halted Franklin County on fourth-and-goal from the 7-yard line. He ran for four yards on the first play of the ensuing drive, and then hit Reynard with a deep ball down the middle of the field for an 89-yard scoring pass.

On the first play of the next JCHS possession it was Shreve's turn as Wellman found him streaking down the left sideline for a 75-yard score.

"He had been a little bit off on the deep ball, and he was finally hitting it tonight," said JCHS coach Shane Hill, who had watched Wellman throw for 200-plus yards in each of the first two games. "He was hitting guys in stride. The two post passes that he threw to Dexter for touchdowns, they were right where they needed to be."

Shreve and Reynard added 29-yard TDs just 25 seconds apart later in the second period, and Reynard caught Wellman's seventh touchdown pass - a 16-yarder - with 18 seconds to go. Wellman had 390 yards passing at halftime, and then hit Garringer with an 11-yard pass early in the third quarter to break the school's yardage mark.

Wellman's unofficial total of 401 yards - he went 10-of-16 and averaged more than 40 yards per completion - surpassed the record Bennett set twice in 1998. His seven touchdowns snapped the mark held by Bennett and Dave Vormohr (1981) and was just one short of tying the state record for TD passes in a game held by Mike Vlahogeorge of Lafayette Jefferson and Casey Gillin of Indian Creek, both of whom accomplished the feat in 2002.

But he passed on the credit to his receivers and his offensive line.

"(The Wildcats) were playing somewhat of a press coverage. The line gave me all day, and Reynard and Dexter are pretty fast," said Wellman, who also ran seven times for a game-best 68 yards. "They just ran right by everybody and I just threw it as hard as I could and they caught it and ran."

Shreve's first-quarter TD receptions went for 31 and 36 yards as he finished with five catches for 204 yards. Reynard racked up 134 yards on his three receptions, and Garringer caught three balls for 63 yards.

"If you put a guy up on Dexter, he better be able to run with him," said Hill, while also complimenting Garringer's consistency and Reynard's athleticism. "Because if you're going to leave him all alone and say 'run with number 15', he's got to be able to do it or it's going to be a long night."

Jay County's defense had suffered a pair of long evenings, giving up 47 points to Delta in the season opener and 46 last week against Blackford. But the Patriots (1-2) found a new formula against Franklin County, moving Mitchell Martyne from end to tackle and Andrew Lancaster from the line to linebacker.

As a result, JCHS limited the Wildcats' starting offense to 12 points and less than 200 total yards. Troy Daugherty, who had 73 rushes for 335 yards in Franklin County's first two games, gained just 42 yards on 19 carries.

"I think it just opened up more holes," said Lance Franklin, who led the team with 11 tackles, of the defensive adjustments. "We played a lot harder tonight, got our swagger back."

Martyne followed with eight tackles, and Reynard had five.

With both junior varsity units in, Jacob Coffman picked up 60 yards on five fourth-quarter runs to lead Franklin County. Starting quarterback Evan Leffingwell went 8-of-22 for 148 yards.[[In-content Ad]]