Dominating defense

BLUFFTON — Hanging on to a four-point lead late in the third quarter, senior Jacob Geesaman knew his team needed a big defensive play.
During the first half, Geesaman was close to intercepting a screen pass to a wide receiver on the perimeter.
When given a second chance, he didn’t miss.
Geesaman stepped in front of Bluffton’s Adam Baumgartner to pick off a Koltan Moore pass at the Tiger 40-yard line and ran untouched into the end zone for a pick-six as one of four takeaways for the Jay County High School football team in a 37-18 victory Friday night.
“The turnovers were huge,” said Geesaman, who on the following Bluffton drive recovered a fumble. He also had a 2-yard rushing touchdown during the first half. “They basically won us the game. They kept them off the field.”
The screen play, Geesaman said, was a read he had been working on all week.
“I was just elated. That is the best word to describe it,” he said of the feeling as he trotted into the end zone. Following a 2-point conversion pass from Holton Hill to Michael Schlechty, the Patriots (3-2, 2-1 ACAC) had a 30-18 lead with 3 minutes, 30 seconds, remaining in the third quarter.
“I was super happy,” added Geesaman, whose 66 yards on nine carries led the team. “I knew right there it was the momentum we needed.”
Ivan Hemmelgarn also picked off a Moore pass, and Cole Stigleman jumped on a fourth-quarter fumble, as Jay County had a 4-2 advantage in turnovers against the Tigers (1-4, 0-3 ACAC).
“We’ve won the turnover battle every game,” Tim Millspaugh, Jay County’s coach, said. “Any time you can get turnovers and win that battle it is big for your team because it is additional possessions for you and fewer for them.
“On the flip side, offensively we have to capitalize on it. We can’t go three-and-out and punt the football.”
Geesaman’s pick-six was the only time Jay County was able to earn points directly off turnovers, as Hemmelgarn’s interception was moments before the end of the first half, and the Patriots ran out the game clock in the fourth quarter following Stigleman’s first career fumble recover.
The Patriots’ offense showed a spark at times, completing timely passes when the running game just didn’t seem to go anywhere. 
Early in the second quarter, on second-and-8 from the JCHS 36-yard line, Hill dropped back to pass and was forced out of the pocket to his left. He stepped up and threw a deep ball to Bryan Stancliffe, and the senior caught it with his fingertips for a 32-yard gain. The play set up a Ryan Schlechty 2-yard touchdown run, which put the Patriots ahead 14-12 heading into the half.
Hill completed 11 of his 14 pass attempts for 205 yards and a touchdown, the score coming on a 77-yard strike in the fourth quarter to Schlechty. The Bluffton defense bit on a play action, and Schlechty slipped behind the Tigers to catch a slightly underthrown Hill pass on the opponent 45-yard line and went untouched to paydirt.