September 25, 2021 at 4:02 a.m.
Patriot offense fizzles
Patriot offense fizzles
WOODBURN — The Patriots had fireworks the first time they touched the ball. There wasn’t much else after that offensively.
Jay County High School’s football team had a tough time moving the football and wasn’t able to contain Warrior quarterback Jake Snyder in a 31-7 loss Friday at Etzler Field.
“We did not execute well,” said JCHS coach Grant Zgunda, whose team dips to 3-3 (2-2 Allen County Athletic Conference). “We made a lot of mistakes. We’re not the type of team that can afford to do that.
“It’s one game. I don’t think we’re as bad as we played tonight, but we played bad offensively.”
Jay County, which has not beaten Woodlan in seven tries, had more yards on the opening kickoff than it did the entire first half.
Coming off a 253-yard, five-touchdown performance against Bluffton last week, Quinn Faulkner took the opening kickoff at his own 10-yard line and ran right up the gut of the kickoff coverage.
He didn’t stop until he reached the end zone 16 seconds later.
The Warriors (3-3, 3-1 ACAC) mostly kept him in check from there, disrupting the JCHS offensive line and preventing the senior and the rest of the Patriots from getting much going on the ground.
And when quarterback Sam Dunlavy dropped back to pass, he had little time to get off a throw. Dunlavy completed just four of his 15 pass attempts for just 25 yards.
“We had a tough time blocking everywhere,” Zgunda said, adding the Patriots were unable to stop Beau Brooks, a 6-foot, 1-inch, 275-pound interior lineman. “Part of it was missed assignments. Part of it was (Brooks) was pretty good. That stuff happens.
“The thing I’m concerned about is the execution. We just didn’t execute well. I don’t know why. It just happens from time to time. We had a lot of mistakes on offense.”
The Patriots had just 63 yards of total offense in the first half, with 33 of those Faulkner’s on eight carries. Faulkner ended his night, which included knee and ankle injuries, with 84 hard-earned yards on 21 carries.
Snyder and the Woodlan’s quick-strike offense went to work almost immediately once it got the ball. The Warriors orchestrated a nine-play scoring drive, which included four Snyder passes, to tie the game less than four minutes after Jay County returned the opening kickoff.
Woodlan got on the board with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Snyder to Landin Golden with 7:59 to go in the first quarter.
It was the first of four TD passes by Snyder. Golden caught two of them as they also connected for a 48-yard score late in the fourth quarter. He also had touchdown tosses to Joe Reidy and Austin Stephenson. Reidy, a 6-foot, 7-inch receiver, had a 30-yard TD reception and Stephenson reached the end zone from the 32.
“Their QB is good,” Zgunda said. Snyder was 24-of-37 passing for 278 yards and added another 51 yards rushing on a dozen carries. “They have some athletes. This game needed to be us moving the ball (and) taking time; not grinding it out, per se, but we need to have long drives and score and try to keep their offense off the field.
“That just didn’t happen.”
Jay County went three-and-out on its first true offensive possession, and recovered a fumble at the Warrior 44 three plays into the ensuing Woodlan drive. But the Patriots were forced to punt again.
DJ Gerig intercepted a Dunlavy pass early in the second quarter, which led to Reidy’s score, and the Patriots had a 10-play drive stall at the Warrior 25.
“There was a couple times we had stuff going but then we make a silly mistake,” Zgunda said. “It was a frustrating game … We’re going to bounce back and work Monday. I have no doubt about that. These guys will bounce back.”
Jay County continues its three-game road Friday when it takes on South Adams (4-2, 2-1 ACAC). The Starfires are coming off back-to-back losses following defeats to Monroe Central (23-0) on Sept. 17 and Adams Central (48-8) on Friday. (The Patriots’ last win against the Starfires was a 15-14 triumph in 2018.)
“If we can execute offensively I think we can play with anybody in our conference,” Zgunda said. “We’ve been able to move the ball at times. That’s why tonight is so frustrating; against (Huntington North) and to a degree against Adams Central, we were able to move the ball a little bit.
“We were going nowhere tonight offensively. We’ll get it corrected.”
Jay County High School’s football team had a tough time moving the football and wasn’t able to contain Warrior quarterback Jake Snyder in a 31-7 loss Friday at Etzler Field.
“We did not execute well,” said JCHS coach Grant Zgunda, whose team dips to 3-3 (2-2 Allen County Athletic Conference). “We made a lot of mistakes. We’re not the type of team that can afford to do that.
“It’s one game. I don’t think we’re as bad as we played tonight, but we played bad offensively.”
Jay County, which has not beaten Woodlan in seven tries, had more yards on the opening kickoff than it did the entire first half.
Coming off a 253-yard, five-touchdown performance against Bluffton last week, Quinn Faulkner took the opening kickoff at his own 10-yard line and ran right up the gut of the kickoff coverage.
He didn’t stop until he reached the end zone 16 seconds later.
The Warriors (3-3, 3-1 ACAC) mostly kept him in check from there, disrupting the JCHS offensive line and preventing the senior and the rest of the Patriots from getting much going on the ground.
And when quarterback Sam Dunlavy dropped back to pass, he had little time to get off a throw. Dunlavy completed just four of his 15 pass attempts for just 25 yards.
“We had a tough time blocking everywhere,” Zgunda said, adding the Patriots were unable to stop Beau Brooks, a 6-foot, 1-inch, 275-pound interior lineman. “Part of it was missed assignments. Part of it was (Brooks) was pretty good. That stuff happens.
“The thing I’m concerned about is the execution. We just didn’t execute well. I don’t know why. It just happens from time to time. We had a lot of mistakes on offense.”
The Patriots had just 63 yards of total offense in the first half, with 33 of those Faulkner’s on eight carries. Faulkner ended his night, which included knee and ankle injuries, with 84 hard-earned yards on 21 carries.
Snyder and the Woodlan’s quick-strike offense went to work almost immediately once it got the ball. The Warriors orchestrated a nine-play scoring drive, which included four Snyder passes, to tie the game less than four minutes after Jay County returned the opening kickoff.
Woodlan got on the board with a 32-yard touchdown pass from Snyder to Landin Golden with 7:59 to go in the first quarter.
It was the first of four TD passes by Snyder. Golden caught two of them as they also connected for a 48-yard score late in the fourth quarter. He also had touchdown tosses to Joe Reidy and Austin Stephenson. Reidy, a 6-foot, 7-inch receiver, had a 30-yard TD reception and Stephenson reached the end zone from the 32.
“Their QB is good,” Zgunda said. Snyder was 24-of-37 passing for 278 yards and added another 51 yards rushing on a dozen carries. “They have some athletes. This game needed to be us moving the ball (and) taking time; not grinding it out, per se, but we need to have long drives and score and try to keep their offense off the field.
“That just didn’t happen.”
Jay County went three-and-out on its first true offensive possession, and recovered a fumble at the Warrior 44 three plays into the ensuing Woodlan drive. But the Patriots were forced to punt again.
DJ Gerig intercepted a Dunlavy pass early in the second quarter, which led to Reidy’s score, and the Patriots had a 10-play drive stall at the Warrior 25.
“There was a couple times we had stuff going but then we make a silly mistake,” Zgunda said. “It was a frustrating game … We’re going to bounce back and work Monday. I have no doubt about that. These guys will bounce back.”
Jay County continues its three-game road Friday when it takes on South Adams (4-2, 2-1 ACAC). The Starfires are coming off back-to-back losses following defeats to Monroe Central (23-0) on Sept. 17 and Adams Central (48-8) on Friday. (The Patriots’ last win against the Starfires was a 15-14 triumph in 2018.)
“If we can execute offensively I think we can play with anybody in our conference,” Zgunda said. “We’ve been able to move the ball at times. That’s why tonight is so frustrating; against (Huntington North) and to a degree against Adams Central, we were able to move the ball a little bit.
“We were going nowhere tonight offensively. We’ll get it corrected.”
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