Despite some great defensive play and hopes to bring momentum from its 53-point campaign against St. Clair-Loyola for the football team’s first win of the season, the JWP Bulldogs lost their homecoming game against United South Central on Friday, October 4, and were shut out in the process 0-18.
The Rebels’ game plan from the start was obvious: dominate the time of possession and wear down the defense by running the ball while occasionally incorporating a passing play or some trickery. They did all that, only attempting to pass eight times while rushing a mind-boggling 42. They were also entirely in control of the ball game, with a time of possession of 37:38 compared to JWP’s staggering 10:22.
What prevented JWP from scoring were three critical fumbles. Each one came as the Bulldogs threatened to score in the USC red zone, shutting down the momentum the offense built throughout their short drives every time.
Although the defense gave up a touchdown on USC’s opening drive, it took the Rebels 17 plays and over nine minutes in the first quarter to get the touchdown; their two-point conversion was unsuccessful. JWP’s offense could not get out of its end of the field in its first drive, forcing a punt.
The offense had plenty of opportunities to score. In the second quarter, on USC’s second drive of the night, they fumbled the ball, with senior linebacker Lucas Morsching recovering it on the Rebels’ 30-yard line. However, the offense hampered themselves with a holding penalty after initially getting a first down on a third and two. That killed their momentum, and USC forced a turnover on downs.
The Rebels were forced to punt, and the Bulldogs got the ball near midfield. However, another penalty, an illegal motion called on Caleb Quast, set the playback for a 2nd and 14. The fumble bug that affected their play against WEM bit quarterback Daulton Bauer as he could not quite grapple with an errant snap, and the Rebels recovered. That helped them get prime field position for another touchdown, this time in the air on a 34-yard passing touchdown. JWP’s defense stepped up and prevented another two-point conversion from being scored.
The Bulldogs tried running a two-minute offense and were moving down the field well. However, with such little time left, they were forced to try deep passes despite having a 3rd and 1. At halftime, it was 12-0.
The second half didn’t go any better for the Bulldogs offensively. On their opening possession of the third quarter, the Bulldogs marched down to USC’s 29-yard line, and Caleb Quast fumbled the ball only three yards after catching Bauer’s pass. Thankfully, the defense forced a three-and-out to get the ball back for the offense.
After USC forced a three-and-out of their own, there was a scare that the Rebels could score a safety or even a touchdown as the snap went over punter Ethan Born’s head. As it looked like he was about to get tackled in the end zone, he ran the ball back to the 31-yard line. Although it ended up only being a net gain of one yard, it prevented USC from having the ball in JWP’s red zone to start their possession.
The Bulldogs defense once again tried giving the offense some help as an interception by senior Peyton O’Brien set them up at their own 29-yard line. A 20-yard pass by Bauer to Caleb Quast set them up near midfield, and the drive was the most promising of the night. However, two plays later, Quast fumbled the ball a third time, and it ended up his second one on the night he lost. The turnover set up USC for its third and final touchdown of the night, this one the Rebels’ second on the ground. The visitors were able to grind down about nine minutes off the play clock in the process. JWP’s defense prevented USC’s third and final two-point conversion attempt from being completed.
The salt in the Bulldogs’ wound came on the final drive, which only lasted one play. Bauer was under pressure from the Rebels’ D-line blasting through the offensive line, forcing him to throw the ball. Byron Getchell, who scored two rushing touchdowns for USC, sealed the game officially with an interception on Bauer.
It’s tough to ask more of JWP’s defense. They recovered USC’s only fumble on the night, picked off the Rebels, got a sack, shut down three two-point conversion attempts, limited USC to 79 passing yards, and forced them to earn every yard for their three touchdowns. The offense had little time to assemble drives, and half of their eight drives were shut down due to turnovers – one interception and three fumbles.
Daulton Bauer was accurate most of the night, completing over 68 percent of his passes for 95 yards and that last-minute interception by USC. The team was limited on the ground, with Morsching only getting 13 attempts for 35 yards, averaging 2.7 yards a carry. Gerdts had four yards a carry and 16 yards total on the night. Quast led the receivers with ten reception for 77 yards and three fumbles. Isaac Gahlon had two receptions for 18 yards.
The team is now 1-4 (1-1 in Section 2AA play). They have two more games left in the regular season, both within Section 2AA. On Friday, October 11, they will face a 3-3 NRHEG team at New Richland for their final road game of the regular season.
