Penrod powers boys past Warriors with hat trick

What a difference a day makes. Or two days, to be particular.

On Thursday, Patriot freshman Jacoby Penrod stood at the penalty spot, seeking to equalize a clash with Delta in the game’s final minutes.

His shot clanged off the bar, and Delta went on to hand Jay County its first defeat of the year.

Penrod more than atoned for that miscue on Saturday, scoring three goals to propel Jay County High School boys soccer to a 3-1 Allen County Athletic Conference win over the visiting Woodlan Warriors.

“It feels great,” said Jay County coach Rodney Reynolds. “I mean, that’s what I told the kids when we took the loss to Delta. ‘It’s OK. We’re going to come back, we don’t have time to put our heads down, because we have a conference game.’ The conference game is a very important game. They were focused from the get-go right after that game.”

Despite the Patriots’ (3-1-1, 1-0 ACAC) preparedness, they fell behind early in Saturday’s battle. It was Lucas Gramajo who broke the ice, scoring for Woodlan (4-1, 0-1 ACAC) just before the midway point of the opening half.

Then, Penrod took over.

The freshman’s speed applied pressure to the Warrior defense all afternoon, and Penrod finally found the back of the net with 15:28 to play in the initial stanza. He zipped past defenders on the right side to win the race to a lengthy feed by Rockland Beiswanger before scalding it across the goalmouth and inside the far post to knot the score.

“I’m just running, and saw (the defender) going after it and just went right by him,” Penrod said. “Saw the post wide open and just put it right there.”

The teams maintained the 1-1 deadlock for much of the second half before Penrod struck again.

    Jay County goalkeeper Peyton Yowell leaps to corral a shot during the Patriots’ 3-1 home win over Woodlan on Saturday. The senior racked up 11 saves along with several aggressive claims to anchor the Patriot defense in the victory. (The Commercial Review/Ethan Oskroba)
  

Around the halfway mark of the final period, Emmitt Reynolds sent a seemingly benign ball chopping toward goal. Once again, Penrod streaked past a posse of Warrior defenders and careened into the net along with the ball to put Jay County in front.

Seven minutes later, Penrod would secure a hat trick and the Patriot victory, calmly snaring the rebound from a Jaxson DeHoff shot and slotting it into the yawning cage.

For Penrod, the three-goal effort meant even more after his costly miss just two days prior.

“After that, I felt like I needed to be better,” Penrod said. “And came out here and just tried to give it my all and just kept pushing.”

Even before Saturday’s performance, already the second multi-goal game in five tries in Penrod’s young career, Rodney Reynolds’ confidence in his young phenom never wavered.

“Even great players, even pro players, miss PKs,” Reynolds said. “And you got to get it out of your head and you got to look in front of you … He’ll be fine, I promised him. I said, ‘erase it like it didn’t happen, and you focus. The more you focus, the better off you are.’”

Another player whose focus was vital to the Jay County victory was goalkeeper Peyton Yowell. The senior stopped 11 shots on the day, including several excellent reaction saves.

While Yowell’s individual effort shined, he credited the team with imbuing him with confidence.

“I just believe in our team,” Yowell said. “And I know even when we were down 0-1, I know we can get that goal back. I trust my defense and I trust my offense.”

In addition to the double-digit saves, Yowell also came barreling off his line on numerous occasions to claim Woodlan through balls, often arriving a split-second before the Warrior offensive player.

For coach Reynolds, Yowell’s aggression was a welcome sight.

“He’s got to play the game like he knows how to play the game,” Reynolds said. “And sometimes he’s hesitant … It looked a lot better today. He didn’t hang back. He was quick, he wanted to come out.”

The veteran Yowell’s performance was a major boost to a youthful Jay County team, which is continuing to gain confidence as the season rolls on.

“We are a young team, but they show up, and they play,” Rodney Reynolds said. “And as long as they’re giving us 120%, we can’t ask for anything better.”