Football defeats St. James Academy to win Sectional Championship
The Jaguars beat the Thunder, 28-14, to advance in the postseason
November 15, 2016
The Jaguars won the Sectional Championship on Friday, Nov. 11 against the St. James Academy Thunder.
To start off the game, St. James scored a touchdown and a successful extra point late into the first quarter. A few minutes later, junior quarterback Brody Flaming scored a touchdown as a result of a 23 yard run but the Jaguars trailed behind the Thunder 7-6.
Senior defensive back Cole Ivey does not believe that the win against St. James in the regular season had an impact on the game.
“No [the regular season game] didn’t affect the game. In the playoffs, everybody’s a new team,” Ivey said.
To start out the second quarter, SJA scored a touchdown and extra point to extend their lead 14-6. The Jaguars then came up with a big stop on the third down of a play that resulted in forcing SJA to punt the ball.
Ivey thought the game was defined by both defensive and offensive plays.
“A defining moment I think was that 4th down stop in our own territory when the offense punted [the ball] and we were stuck back in our own territory and we stopped them,” Ivey said.
Heading into halftime, Flaming passed the ball to senior wide receiver Ben Hartman resulting in a touchdown for the Jaguars. After a successful 2-point conversion, the Jaguars were tied with the Thunder 14-14.
Linebacker coach TJ Finan is proud of the team and the effort they put into the game.
“We physically kind of took over. All the work we put in [during] the off season showed up there in the second half,” Finan said. “Offense scored two touchdowns and defense stepped up and had three fourth down stops”.
Late into the third quarter, senior linebacker Josh Winscott intercepted the ball to stop St. James from scoring.
With 3:14 left in the third quarter, sophomore running back Cameron Young scored a touchdown as a result of a 3 yard carry. The extra point by sophomore kicker Jack Matchette was successful making the score 21-14.
Towards the end of the third quarter, a St. James pass fell incomplete resulting in the Jaguars taking over on a turnover on downs. With four minutes left in the game, Young attempted to score a touchdown but was called back.
Three minutes later, Young carried the ball for a touchdown. Matchette’s extra point extended the Jags’ lead 28-14. In the last 15 seconds of the game, sophomore defensive back Tanner Moore intercepted that ball to stop SJA from scoring. The Jaguars won the 5A Sectional Championship against the St. James Thunder 28-14.
The Jaguars win against SJA will give the team confidence heading into next week’s game according to Finan.
“[The win will] keep the momentum going. In the playoffs you’re one and done. The kids are ready, they’re energized. They were ready to practice all week and we’ll be ready to go next Friday,” Finan said.
The Jaguars will play at St. Thomas Aquinas for the Substate Championship on Friday, Nov. 18. The Jaguars previously played Aquinas on Friday, Sept. 30 resulting in a 40-33 loss.
