Mills shows skills

MUNCIE — Jay County’s defense was solid for one quarter.
Delta senior Zach Mills was solid for four.
Mills brought the opening kickoff back 82 yards for a touchdown, ran for two scores and threw for another as Delta thwacked the visiting Patriots 63-0.
“I was happy with our execution,” said Delta coach Grant Zgunda, who switched up his coaching scheme and ran the team from the press box.
The Eagles (1-0) had to replace a lot of key pieces from their 2014 team, so most of this year’s squad was unproven. That changed from the first play of the game when Mills scampered up the middle untouched to the end zone.
After being forced to punt on its opening drive, Jay County’s defense held the Eagles to a three-and-out. The second drive for the Patriots (0-1) had much more success thanks to a 32-yard punt return by Cole Stigleman.
The sophomore returned the kick to Delta’s 22 yard line to put Jay County’s offense in prime position to score. Six plays later the Patriots faced fourth-and-5 from the Eagles’ nine, but Holton Hill’s fade pass to Aaron Neal in the end zone fell incomplete.
Hill was 6-of-12 passing for 43 yards and threw two interceptions. One of those would have been returned for a touchdown in the second quarter but was called back by a personal foul.
The Eagles had a 7-0 lead at the end of the quarter and backed Jay County up to its own 2-yard line to start the second.
Delta’s Blake Green took advantage of a bad pitch by Hill and pounced on a loose ball in the end zone for another score.
Delta’s defensive line — anchored by 6-foot, 5-inch, 270-pound nose guard Kaleb Slaven — created fits Jay County’s offense. Slaven, who was often double- and triple-teamed, pushed back the Patriots’ line, disrupting handoffs to all three running backs and interrupting Hill’s timing.
“Slaven is a monster inside,” said JCHS coach Tim Millspaugh, whose team has lost 25 straight games to the Eagles. “With our quick passing game, protection was an issue and that is why we had some miscues with the QB-center exchange.”
JCHS center Quenten Bollinger and Hill fumbled four exchanges.
Early in the second quarter, Delta’s Jacob Van Pelt undercut an out route, picking off Hill’s pass and taking it 70-plus yards to the end zone but had it called back on a penalty.
On the very next play from scrimmage, Eagles’ quarterback Riley Pease — he threw two touchdowns to Mitchell Hahn — tossed right to Mills, then took off down the left sideline and caught Mills’ pass in stride for a 67 yard score.
“If you’re going to come load the box, we’re going to throw the ball,” Zgunda said. “If you put six or seven in the box we’re going to try to run it.”
Delta had 368 yards of total offense — 165 on the ground and 203 through the air — on only 29 plays, averaging more than 12 yards per play.
“I thought we’d have a better rush than we did,” said Millspaugh.
Jay County’s defense stopped Pease once in the backfield when he tried to tuck the ball and run in the first quarter. A host of Patriots also sacked him the same quarter.
“We got some (pressure) but not enough,” Millspaugh said.
With a kick return and passing touchdowns already to his name from the first half, Mills showed off his speed in the second carrying the football.
He scampered untouched around the left edge to score from 38 yards out in the third quarter, then went off tackle on the right side in the fourth quarter for a 59 yard touchdown. He finished with 149 yards on 13 carries.
“It was a tough night,” Millspaugh said. “It was a frustrating night for all of us. We have just got to continue to work.”