By ANDREW FEEBACK
PORTLAND—Three costly mistakes in the first half caused the game to quickly spiral out of control for the Southern Wells Raiders Friday night as they fell to the host Jay County Patriots 41-6.
It overshadowed some improved play for the Raiders in the first half.
“We shot ourselves in the foot. That’s what we admitted at halftime,” coach Mike Roeder said. “But they also did an awful lot of good things. Last year, we were talking about how we were competing against the other team’s JV in the second half, and the goal this year was to be able to compete in the first half against the other team’s starters. I think we did that.”
“We had a couple of bullets in our foot, breakdowns in coverage, mental mistakes, but overall, I was pleased with the way we moved the ball,” he continued.
Jay County (2-1) took a 7-0 lead when AJ Myers scored on a 3-yard touchdown run.
Southern Wells (0-3) picked up a couple of first downs and reached the Patriots’ 39-yard-line before turning it over on downs.
The Patriots scored two plays after that when Myers ran in another touchdown from nine yards out.
On the following kickoff, the Raiders’ Bryar Gearheart returned it nearly 70 yards before being tackled, but a holding penalty all the way back on the Raider 23-yard-line wiped it out. The next big miscue occurred early in the second quarter when Jay County faced fourth and eight at the Raider 24-yard-line.
Southern Wells jumped offsides, and Kadin Ridenour scored on the next play. The Patriots went up 27-0 when Myers scored his third touchdown, this one from 32 yards.
The Raiders responded with an impressive 13-play drive that reached the Patriot 25 with time winding down in the first half. That’s when the third mistake of the night bit them hard.
After Gearheart caught a pass for a five-yard gain on third and 10, he was tackled in bounds. With no timeouts left, the clock was running and the Raiders hurried up to the line and spiked the ball to stop it. But that was on fourth down, which meant the ball went back to Jay County with 10 seconds left in the half.
Sean Bailey went deep to Patrick Hemmelgarn, hauling it in for an 80-yard touchdown to end the half with a 35-0 lead for the hosts.
“I’m not going to speak for our defensive coordinator, but I know he’s anxious to get back at it on Monday and correct some of these mistakes,” Roeder said.
The Raiders got on the board late in the third quarter when Gearheart caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Nusbaumer.
Jay County got its final points when Bailey threw a 45-yard touchdown pass to Ethan Reilly to open the fourth quarter. It may not feel like it, but Roeder feels his team is beginning to trend in a better direction.
“Honestly, we are better tonight than we’ve been at any point in the last three years,” he said.
Gage Roberts had a good night running the ball for the Raiders, carrying 17 times for 88 yards.
Southern Wells will travel to Carroll County next week to take on Carroll Flora.
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JAY COUNTY 41, SOUTHERN WELLS 6
At Jay County High School
Score By Quarters
Southern Wells 0 0 6 0 –– 6
Jay County 13 22 0 6 –– 41
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
JC–AJ Myers 3 run (Sheldon Minch kick), 8:21.
JC–Myers 9 run (kick failed), 2:46.
Second Quarter
JC-Kadin Ridenour 19 run (Brady Davis run), 10:11
JC-Myers 32 run (kick failed), 5:58.
JC-Patrick Hemmelgarn 80 pass from Sean Bailey (Christian Runkle run), 0:00
Third Quarter
SW-Bryar Gearheart 7 pass from Jenson Nusbaumer (run failed), 2:25.
Fourth Quarter
JC-Ethan Reilley 45 pass from Bailey (kick failed), 10:58
Team Statistics
SW JC
First Downs 11 6
Rushes-Yards 37-159 21-173
Yards Passing 55 180
Passing (Comp-Att-Int) 6-12-0 5-5-0
Penalties-Yards 4-35 2-11
Fumbles-Lost 0-0 1-0
Punts-Average 1-29 0-0
Time of Possession 32:16 15:44
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Southern Wells Kaiden Schmidt 2-5, Case Boxell 5-12, Jenson Nusbaumer 4-8, Bryar Gearheart 13-46, Gage Roberts 17-88. Jay County, Carter Fugiett 3-8, Brady Jetmore 2-12, Sean Bailey 1-(minus 5), Ethan Reilly 1-22, Kadin Ridenour 7-70, AJ Meyer 6-61, Brady Davis 1-5.
Passing: Southern Wells, Nusbaumer 6-12-0-55. Jay County, Bailey 5-5-0-180.
Receiving: Southern Wells, Gearheart 6-59, Roberts 1-(minut 4). Jay County, Reilly 1-45, Jacob Robinson 1-1, Davis 1-3, Justin DeHoff 1-51, Patrick Hemmelgarn 1-80.
