By RYAN WALKER
It was a really close game for about a half before Jay County poured it on.
The Southern Wells (1-2) football team dropped its home and conference opener 42-13 after just a one-point deficit at halftime.
The efforts were enough to please the Raiders’ head coach, Jeff Sprunger, who had a legitimate belief in the team with the one-score game.
“I think if you watched this game and you look at the scoreboard, that is not indicative of the teams that played on this field tonight. You take away one quarter, that’s a tight game. You take away one quarter —That’s a tight game. And like I said, I’m proud of our boys.”
Sprunger did some extra homework on the Patriots and prepared his defense in and out, and right from the opening drive, it showed.
The Raiders forced the Patriots to punt the ball three times in the first half and couldn’t get anything on the ground. At the half, Southern Wells stuffed the Patriots for -15 yards and a pair of sacks. That led to only one score for Jay County, a big one, as quarterback Sean Bailey connected with Benson Ward for 57 yards.
Whatever Southern Wells coaching staff found in the film session was working on the field, and the boys were executing.
“It’s exactly what we’re looking for and hoping for,” Sprunger said. “We were well prepared for them. We knew what they were going to bring us, and we felt good about our attack, and it showed. It showed, and it showed on the scoreboard.
It looked as if the Raiders were going to tie the game with a drive that started at their own 52-yard line. A few chunk plays on the ground by Bryar Gearheart, Case Boxell, and Tucker Worster got them to the 11-yard line. Gearheart then took a handoff up the middle for a score and got the crowd even more excited than they already were, thanks to the defense.
The only blemish to the drive was a missed extra point. Therefore, Jay County kept the lead.
As bad as the score looked in the second half, it wasn’t turning out that way on the Raiders’ opening possession.
Quarterback Trey Slusher took the snap and rolled to his left, finding Gearheart wide open and outran the Patriot’s defense and took it to the house for six. However, a personal foul by the offense rolled the Raiders back and negated the score.
Then, down came the rain.
Jay County took advantage of the momentum shift, scoring 36 unanswered points.
The first was a 9-yard run by AJ Meyers. Then, a Justin Dehoff interception for a score launched the Patriots to a 23-6 lead. Bailey threw his second and third passing touchdowns on the night for a total of 57 yards combined.
So, what happened in between the first and second half?
“We just ran out of gas,” Sprunger said. “Guys started cramping up, and that’s the difference of the game right there, I think. I really do. I’m prouder than pink of our boys, I really am.”
Before Jay County picked up its final touchdown, its fifth of the half, Sprunger’s boys still had something left in the tank.
After picking up a fumble recovery on the 10-yard line, Raiders’ runningback Worster broke free up the far right sideline and outran two Patriot defenders in for a 90-yard touchdown.
Southern Wells will host Wes-Del for a nonconference matchup next week at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 8.
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JAY COUNTY 43, SOUTHERN WELLS 12
At Southern Wells High School
Score By Quarters
Jay County 7 0 23 13 – 43
Southern Wells 0 6 0 0 – 12
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
JC—Sean Bailey 57-yard pass to Benson Ward (AJ Meyers kick), 4:42.
Second Quarter
SW—Bryar Gearheart 11-yard run (Joshua Albach kick no good), 7:19.
Third Quarter
JC—Meyers 8-yard run (2- pt good), 5:48.
JC—Justin Dehoff 40-yard interception (Meyers kick), 4:41.
JC—Bailey 7-yard pass to Bryce Wenk (2- pt good), :25.
Fourth Quarter
JC—Bailey 52-yard pass to Justin Dehoff (Kick blocked), 10:12.
SW—Tucker Worster 90-yard run (two-pt failed), 6:12.
JC—Bryce Wenk 13-yard run (Bailey kick), 1:06.
Team Statistics
JC SW
First Downs 13 9
Rushes-Yards 28-80 45-187
Yards Passing 224 0
Passing (C-A-I) 8-10-0 0-2-1
Penalties-Yards 2-30 7-46
Fumbles-Lost 1-1 2-1
Punts-Average 3-22.7 3-31.7
Time of Possession 22:28 25:32
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Jay County: AJ Meyers 19-54, Bryce Wenk 3-25, Justin Dehoff 1-6, Sean Bailey 4-(-7). Southern Wells: Tucker Worster 7-97, Case Boxell 20-65, Bryar Gearheart 13-54, Trey Slusher 4-(-26).
Passing: Jay County: Sean Bailey 8-10-0 224, Southern Wells: Trey Slusher 0-2-1 0.
Receiving: Jay County: Justin Dehoff 2-102 Benson Ward 4-92, Bryce Went 2-30. Southern Wells: None.
