Patriots open with Bruins on Friday

Jay County Patriots

Portland, 0-0

Coach: Grant Zgunda, 24th year

Conference: Allen County

Last season: Jay County struggled through the season, finishing 0-9 for the first winless record in program history. The Patriots managed just 22 points through their first five games and scored eight total touchdowns for the year, including being shut out four times. The defense allowed an average of 43 points per game.

Returning leaders: Passing — Sam Dunlavy – 21-of-76 for 356 yards, one touchdown and six interceptions. Rushing — Quinn Faulkner – 61 carries for 293 yards and two touchdowns. Receiving — Kess McBride – six catches for 51 yards. Defense — Kess McBride – 49 tackles.



Blackford Bruins

Hartford City, 0-0

Coach: Randy Sehy, sixth year

Conference: Central Indiana

Last season: After losing its first three games of the season the Bruins won three in a row to get above .500. But the Bruins lost the final four games and ended the year 3-6.

Returning leaders: Passing — none. Rushing — Scott Winger – 93 carries for 680 yards and seven touchdowns. Receiving — Scott Winger – one catch for 14 yards. Defense — Scott Winger – 91 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss.



Last meeting: Michael Schlechty powered his way to the go-ahead 2-point conversion with 36 seconds to play, helping Jay County to a 22-21 victory on Aug. 17, 2018. Trey Castillo scored the first two touchdowns of his career, and Schlechty had a TD ahead of his eventual game-winning conversion.

Game notes: This is the 47th meeting all time and the first since 2018 between Jay County and Blackford.?The Patriots hold a 32-14 advantage in the series, including victories in each of the last 10 meetings. Blackford’s last win against Jay County was a 46-41 victory in 2008 ... Including the 2019 loss in the sectional opener, Jay County has lost 10 consecutive games, the longest losing streak in program history, surpassing nine consecutive losses from 2018-19 ... This is the first of four home games for Jay County, including Sept. 10 (Adams Central), Sept. 17 (Bluffton) and Oct. 15 (Heritage ... Blackford has a 23.2 Sagarin Rating, which is 238th overall and 42nd in Class 2A. Jay County’s 16.54 Sagarin Rating is 263rd overall and 57th in Class 4A ... CalPreps.com predicts Jay County to win, 24-21.