Jaguars defeat Blue Valley at home

The Jaguars defeated the Tigers for the first time in school history on Friday, Oct. 12

Taylir Charest, JAG editor in chief

The Jaguars defeated the Blue Valley Tigers 18-7, holding them to one touchdown on Friday, Oct. 13.

To start the game, the Jaguars kicked off to the Tigers. The Jaguars forced a punt on the Tiger’s first possession. Senior linebacker Chase Shryock blocked the punt, which gave the Jaguars the ball on the Tiger’s 27-yard line. Senior running back Cameron Young ran the ball in for a touchdown, but the extra point attempt was missed. This gave the Jaguars an early lead of 6-0.

In preparation for this week, the team put in some new plays at practice, which Young thought were effective in the game.

“We watched a lot of film and we schemed them pretty good this week,” Young said. “We set up some new formations that we thought would work and it happened to work out pretty well for us.”

Junior defensive lineman Justin Sanders sacked the Blue Valley quarterback on their next possession, on third down, forcing another punt.

Defensive coordinator Drew Hudgins thought the defense went all out for this game.

“They just played hard,” Hudgins said. “They literally played with all their effort on every snap and I’m really proud of those guys.”

After the Jaguars punted, the Tigers missed a field goal on the following drive with 16.9 seconds left in the first quarter.

With 7:07 remaining in the first half, senior linebacker Sage Sieperda intercepted the ball. The Jaguars failed to capitalize off of it and both teams went scoreless for the rest of the quarter.

The offense and defense worked together cohesively, according to Sieperda.

“The defense just got aligned and played football. We read our keys and balled out,” Sieperda said. “Defensively, we did pretty good on and off the field and offense did their thing.”

To start off the second half, the Jaguars received the kick.

A long pass from senior quarterback Jordan Preston and reception by senior wide receiver Logan Talley moved the Jaguars down the field. After a personal foul was called on Blue Valley, Young ran the ball in for another touchdown. The Jaguars failed to complete a two-point conversion, bringing the score to 12-0.

According to Young, the team really came together to get the win.

“We started out front and our o-line got a good push,” Young said. “As for the skilled player positions, we just listened to our coaches and put it together.”

A 56-yard touchdown catch by senior wide receiver Jace Zukowski gave the Jaguars an 18-0 lead with 7:00 remaining in the game.

With six seconds left in the game, the Tigers scored their first touchdown. The Jaguars were on top 18-7, which was the final score.

The Jaguars will face Blue Valley Southwest on Friday, Oct. 19 at home for senior night.

Despite hardships this year, Hudgins believes that the team is persevering.

“It hasn’t been an easy season,” Hudgins said. “We didn’t expect to be 3-3 at this point, but we’re really just fighting through adversity and that’s what it’s all about.”

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