Patriots take trip to Lapel

Jay County Patriots 

Portland, 4-3

Coach: Grant Zgunda, second year (26th overall)

Conference: Allen County

Last week at South Adams: Jay County had a chance to win on fourth-and-1 from the 6-yard line with 10.2 seconds left and no timeouts, but the Starfires’ Diesel Zeigler snagged quarterback Sean Bailey’s jersey as he tried to run a bootleg to preserve his team’s 23-23 homecoming victory. A.J. Myers and Bryce Wenk ran for 107 and 87 yards, respectively, to lead the Patriot offense.

Season leaders: Passing — Sean Bailey – 44-of-80 for 705 yards and 10 TDs. Rushing — A.J. Myers – 175 carries for 816 yards and 11 TDs. Receiving — Justin DeHoff – 12 receptions for 317 yards and four TDs, Benson Ward – 12 receptions for 211 yards and four TDs. Defense — Garrett Bennett – 55 tackles.

vs.

Lapel Bulldogs

Lapel, 3-4

Coach: Tim Miller, 11th year

Conference: Independent

Last week vs. Heritage Christian: Lapel owned the second half, scoring a pair of third-quarter touchdowns while blanking the Eagles for a 29-15 victory. Quarterback Devin Craig had a big passing evening, going 20-for-32 for 341 yards and TD passes to Nick Witte (11 catches), Rylie Hudson and Brice Burress.

Season leaders: Passing — Devin Craig – 135-of-222 for 1,808 yards and 20 TDs. Rushing — Jack Miller – 93 carries for 408 yards and two TDs. Receiving — Nick Witte – 53 receptions for 745 yards and seven TDs, Rylie Hudson – 32 receptions for 460 yards and nine TDs, Brice Burress – 23 receptions for 263 yards and four TDs. Defense — Rylie Hudson – 48 tackles.

Last season: The Patriots led 21-7 before giving up three consecutive touchdowns. They still had a chance to tie the game, moving the ball to the Lapel 23-yard line in the final minute before Bulldog cornerback Rylie Hudson stepped in front of Sean Bailey slant intended for Patrick Hemmelgarn and intercepted it. Lapel freshman quarterback Devin Craig threw for 183 of his 266 yards in the second half.

Game notes: Jay County is 0-4 all-time against the Bulldogs .... After a 3-0 start, the Patriots have lost three of their last four games. They need to win one of their final two games in order to have a winning regular-season for the first time since 2016 ... Lapel must win its last two games in order to finish with a ninth straight winning regular season ... CalPreps.com lists the Bulldogs as 18-point favorites.