Jay County, Heritage battle for Patriot Trophy

Jay County Patriots

Portland, 3-5 (2-3)

Coach: Grant Zgunda, 24th year

Conference: Allen County

Last week at Lapel: Jay County lost three offensive starters in the first quarter of a 35-0 loss to the Lapel Bulldogs. Kess McBride was hurt on the opening kickoff, while two running backs (Brady Davis and Quinn?Faulkner) got hurt later in the period. Lapel, meanwhile, got 187 rushing yards and four touchdowns from Tyler Dollar.

Season leaders: Passing — Sam Dunlavy – 32-of-77 for 378 yards, four touchdowns and seven interceptions (through seven games). Rushing — Quinn?Faulkner – 124 carries for 927 yards and 13 touchdowns. Receiving — Quinn Faulkner – 18 catches for 150 yards and one touchdown. Defense — Qadon Ferrell – 61 tackles, two tackles for loss, one forced fumble and one blocked pun.



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Heritage Patriots

Monroeville, 3-5 (2-3)

Coach: Casey Kolkman, second year

Conference: Allen County

Last week at Southern Wells: Heritage raced out to a 31-0 advantage after the first quarter on its way to a 61-0 thumping of the winless Southern Wells Raiders. Caleb Abbott had two touchdowns through the air and two more on the ground in totaling 138 all-purpose yards. Xavier Rogers, Eric Rogers and Mar Mat Fee also had rushing scores.

Season leaders: Passing — Caleb Abbott – 35-of-64 for 346 yards, two touchdowns and five interceptions. Rushing — Eric Rogers – 125 carries for 756 yards and nine touchdowns. Receiving — Ibrahim Williams – 16 catches for 247 yards and one touchdown. Defense — Rylan Whitacre – 74 tackles, six tackles for loss, four forced fumbles and three sacks.



Last meeting: After scoring 50 points combined through its first eight games, Jay County picked up its first win of the season with a 46-21 victory against the Heritage Patriots on Oct. 18, 2019. Bailey Cox had 204 rushing yards and two touchdowns, Rylee Huftel had two rushing TDs and a pick-6 and Quinn Faulkner recorded 133 rushing yards. Sheldon Eley and Kess McBride also had interceptions, while Braden McIntire and Charlie Brunswick recovered fumbles.

Game notes: This is the 11th meeting all time between Jay County and Heritage, and the series is even at 5-5. Jay County, however, has won each of the last four meetings, including all three years since the Patriot Trophy was introduced in 2017. The two teams did not play in 2020; Heritage had to quarantine because of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic ... After Friday’s game, Jay County will open Class 4A Sectional 20 play on Oct. 22 at Mississinewa, while Heritage meets travels to Peru in the Class 3A Sectional 27 sectional quarterfinal ... With a victory,?Jay County has the chance to end the regular season with a winning record at home for the first time since 2016 when it went 3-2 at Harold E. Schutz Memorial Stadium ... Senior Quinn?Faulkner, who is 83 yards shy of reaching 1,000 rushing yards for the season and was knocked out of last week’s game with an upper-body injury, is expected to play this week, while classmate Kess McBride (ankle) is doubtful. Junior Brady Davis, who suffered a dislocated shoulder last week as well, will miss the remainder of the season ... Heritage has a Sagarin rating of 24.41, which is 245th overall and 48th in Class 3A. Jay County’s 24.39 is 246th in the state and 52nd in Class 4A ... John?Harrell’s website predicts Jay County to win 28-27, and Calpreps.com lists Jay County as four-point favorites (26-22).