Bishop Luers defense held Jay County offense at bay in 33-point sectional semifinal loss

The Patriots earned their first playoff victory in seven years on the last Friday in October. By November, they knew they would have to be perfect to try to beat the Knights.

As the first half drew to a close, they stayed within striking distance before a 43-yard punt return set up a last-minute score.

The Jay County High School football team’s season ended at the hands of the Bishop Luers Knights 41-8 in the IHSAA Class 3A Section 28 semifinal game Friday night.

With the win, Bishop Luers (7-4) will host No. 2 Mississinewa in the sectional championship on Nov. 8.

“I’ve seen Luers do a lot worse than that against teams,” JCHS coach Grant Zgunda said. “We held on for (almost) half. … (We) played hard the whole game and that doesn’t always happen when you’re in a game like that and you’re in that situation.

The Jay County (3-8) defense did what it could to force BLHS to play and earn its points in the first half.

The Knights scored on the first drive after a 14-yard pass from Jayce White to McKale Woodson, a 16-yard run by Jacob Felger and a 36-yard run by DaMeon Hogue to bring the ball to the 7-yard line . Felger made two runs to hit the ball.

The Patriots got a stop on the second drive, but Bishop Luers recovered the ball at the Jay County 41-yard line to start its third drive. A seven-point, one-pass run ended with Hogue carrying the ball 6 yards for the game’s second score with 5:40 left in the half.

JCHS relieved the Knights on their fourth drive and got the ball back with two minutes left in the half. A quick three-and-out allowed the Patriots to punt the ball with less than a minute remaining. Bishop Luers took advantage as Daveon Surry returned the ball 43 yards to the 7-yard line – the Patriots ended the drive at the 18 – to set up Felger for his second touchdown and go up 21-0 with 47, 9 seconds left.

“Twenty-one points is a lot to win against these guys,” Zgunda said. “When it was 14-0 with 50 seconds left in the half, I was like, ‘All right, if we can just get to halftime, you can come out for a big play, you’re one score, then anything can happen.’

“That punt return, you can’t do that when it’s 14-0 nothing at halftime against Luers. It’s going to be hard enough for us to score a touchdown against these guys because they’re really good, let alone three.

The Knights defense gave Jay County fits all night, allowing just one first down in the entire first half – it came on a roughing kick – and two on the final drive of the match.

In total, the Patriots managed 81 offensive yards on 21 carries and 4 of 13 passes. They moved the ball 68 yards on the final drive. Quarterback Sean Bailey found Rhysin Blowers twice for 27 yards, while AJ Myers, Bailey and Isaac Dues ran the ball 41 yards, including Dues’ 6-yard run for the score.

Bishop Luers often bombarded Bailey, sacking him twice, tackling him for a loss five times for 23 yards and forcing him to throw the ball several times.

“It’s a whole team effort,” BLHS coach Kyle Lindsay said. “We have size, we have speed on the defensive side of the ball. It’s hard to address one or two guys on offense. We have quite a few blitz packages. We probably couldn’t play half of it tonight because our defense wasn’t very present on the field.

“But (Bailey) is a tough kid. He is one of the most athletic, dual-threat quarterbacks we have seen this year. So for our defense to step up and take care of business wasn’t surprising, but to do it the way we did was a good night.

Although Zgunda was pleased with the way his defense allowed the Knights to gain their points (only six plays went for more than 15 yards), he couldn’t slow down the scoring in the second half. The defending Class 2A state champions found the end zone twice in the third quarter on a 2-yard run by backup quarterback Devin Patterson and a 29-yard run by Hogue. Patterson also connected with Evan Wilkens for a 20-yard touchdown in the fourth.

The Patriots will bring in 13 players to the roster, including key offensive players like Bailey, Myers and wide receiver Benson Ward, as well as two defensive leaders like Lucas Strait and Dues.

“They are huge,” Zgunda said. “They’re just going to compete. They’re competitors and they absolutely hate to lose and that’s what’s been so difficult, playing matches that could have gone in our favor but didn’t. We haven’t been in any embarrassing games, not even that game. Our kids played hard and that’s all you can ask for.