By ANDREW FEEBACK
With a dominant second half, the Bluffton Tigers shook off a poor start and ran away from the visiting Jay County Patriots 34-7.
Bluffton improved to 3-2 while dropping Jay County to 2-3.
It didn’t come as easily as it may appear.
Early on, the Tigers struggled to stop the Patriots’ running game, as the visitors went 61 yards in nine plays on their opening drive to take an early lead.
“Coach (Grant) Zgunda has won over 200 games in his career; he’s a really good football coach,” Bluffton coach Brent Kunkel said. “They came out and ran some trap plays that we hadn’t quite repped and prepared for, and that’s a credit to him and his staff. We were able to take that punch, and it took us a bit to respond.”
The Tigers reached the Patriots’ 5-yard-line to begin the second quarter but fumbled.
“That’s kind of been the Achilles’ heel for us right now, getting in the red zone and not cashing in,” Kunkel said.
Bluffton’s next possession looked like it might stall, with the Tigers facing third and 14 on their own 41.
But Braxton Betancourt hit Andrew Hunt for a 24-yard gain, then rolled to his right and sprinted for the corner of the end zone and a 35-yard touchdown run to tie the score.
AJ Streveler caught an 11-yard touchdown pass with under a minute left in the first half to put Bluffton up 13-7.
With Jay County driving to begin the second half, the Tigers recovered a fumble by Kadin Ridenour and took over at their own 34.
It was maybe the only mistake Ridenour made all night. The senior running back rushed 17 times for 140 yards.
Bluffton reached the red zone but faced fourth and 11 from the 23 after a couple of negative plays.
Betancourt fired a pass over the middle, and Tucker Jenkins hauled it in for a touchdown to put the Tigers up 19-7.
Jay County went three-and-out, and Bluffton turned to its ground game.
Anthony Cruz carried four times on the next series, the last of which went 19 yards for another score to make it 27-7 after Brody Lewis caught a 2-point conversion pass.
It capped off quite a night for Cruz, who finished with 22 carries for 131 yards and was also crowned Homecoming King at halftime.
Khamel Moore ran four times on the next possession, scoring from a yard out with nine minutes to play for the team’s last touchdown.
Yaroslav Serdiuk, a freshman exchange student from Ukraine, kicked the extra point.
Ben Ramseyer wrestled the ball away from the intended receiver for his second interception of the night.
Bluffton reached the one-yard-line before taking a knee to end the game.
The Tigers had 22 first downs to the Patriots’ eight and ran the ball 45 times for 301 yards.
Betancourt finished 12 of 16 passing for 151 yards and two scores.
Coach Kunkel is pleased with the progress his team has made with the regular season now halfway done.
“If you look at us from that Northfield game to now, I think we’re a completely different team,” he said. “Looking back to that game, 16 of 22 kids playing their first Friday night, you could see the jitters. You saw tonight, Braxton is starting to feel it. He’s starting to make good reads and use his legs. Our offensive line is gelling, and our defense is playing lights out. They have kept us in every game, and it’s easy to call plays when you have trust and faith in your defense. I want to make sure those kids get credit.”
Bluffton will travel to Southern Wells Friday night for a 7 p.m. kickoff with the Raiders.
BLUFFTON 34, JAY COUNTY 7
At Bluffton
Score By Quarters
Jay County 7 0 0 0 – 7
Bluffton 0 13 14 7 – 34
Scoring Summary
First Quarter
JC—Sean Bailey 1 run (Sheldon Minch kick), 5:26.
Second Quarter
B—Braxton Betancourt 35 run (Brody Lewis kick), 3:26.
B—AJ Streveler 11 pass from Betancourt (kick failed), 0:28.
Third Quarter
B—Tucker Jenkins 23 pass from Betancourt (pass failed), 4:30.
B—Anthony Cruz 19 run (Lewis pass from Betancourt), 0:53.
Fourth Quarter
B—Khamel Moore 1 run (Yaroslav Serdiuk kick), 9:06.
Team Statistics
JC BLU
First Downs 8 22
Rushes-Yards 26-136 45-301
Yards Passing 12 151
Passing (Comp-Att-Int) 3-10-2 12-16-0
Penalties-Yards 4-31 2-20
Fumbles-Lost 3-1 3-1
Punts-Average 4-28 1-16
Time of Possession 18:56 29:04
Individual Statistics
Rushing: Jay County, Kadin Ridenour 17-140, AJ Myers 2-2, Sean Bailey 7-(minus 6). Bluffton, Anthony Cruz 22-131, AJ Streveler 1-19, Brody Lewis 1-4, Khamel Moore 15-123, Braxton Betancourt 6-24.
Passing: Jay County, Bailey 3-10-2-12. Bluffton, Betancourt 12-16-0-151.
Receiving: Jay County, Ridenour 1-0, Myers 2-12. Bluffton, Lewis 2-31, Streveler 4-48, Andrew Hunt 4-43, Tucker Jenkins 2-29.
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