Jimtown High School

Jimmies overpower Bremen in big conference test By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - Surprise? Upset? No one in Baugo will be using those terms to describe the thumping Jimtown’s Jimmies scourged Friday night (9.18.26) in high school football. Jimtown piled up 329 yards (unofficial) on the ground to soundly thrash arch-rival Bremen, 44-22, before a large homecoming crowd with an orange half-moon looking on. (BTW, Macie LaFree was crowned as the Homecoming Queen. Her mom, Lori, leads the Jimtown choral music, and her dad, Matt is a counselor and heads up the Jimmies golf teams.) There was a bit of gridiron revenge involved, as well, reversing last season’s heart-breaking 29-22 loss at Bremen. Nash Hamby rushed for 170 yards and scored three touchdowns in knocking off the Lions, who were ranked No. 10 in Indiana’s Class 2A and undefeated at 4-0. More importantly, the Jimmies took the lead in the Indiana Northern State Conference with a perfect 2-0 mark (3-2 overall). A powerful demonstration in the trenches opened the gaps in Bremen’s defense, giving Hamby the room he needed. “I’m so proud of these guys,” said Jimtown coach Cody Vincent. “It was a hard, tough game, and we won on the line.” He cited the efforts of Logan Kelley (6-foot-3, 295-pound senior), Owen Biggs (6-1, 225 senior), Connor Freed (6-1, 260 junior), Charlie Rorie (6-1, 230 junior) and Brax Laird (6-4, 200 senior) across the front line. “I told them at the half (with a 31-7 lead), ‘We can’t let up; keep your foot on the gas,’ and they responded well,” Vincent added. “And our defense terrorized them,” he related. The Jimmies forced Bremen into three turnovers by their fierce attack that had the Lions in retreat many times, including a particular punting situation. Punter Axel Mendoza Martinez barely got the kick away under a great Jimtown rush, and it resulted in a three-yard loss. This unrelenting, savage attack showed its grim face early, forcing a fumble on Bremen’s third play from scrimmage. Biggs scooped up the ball and returned it 17 yards for a TD. Bremen drove 77 yards with the ensuing possession and tied the game at seven with 4:50 left in the first period. The Jimmies then held the Lions scoreless until just 10 minutes were left in the game, racking up a huge 37-7 lead. The Lions found it nearly impossible to corral Hamby, a speedy, 5-9, 170 senior. After a four-yard TD in the second period, he raced to a 32-yard score in the Jimmies’ next drive and another for 35 yards to jump-start the second half. Bremen 7 0 8 7 22 Jimtown 7 24 6 7 44 Scoring: J - Owen Biggs 17 fumble return (Murphy DiPiro kick) B - Logan Moser 1 run (Axel Mendoza Martinez kick) J - Nash Hamby 4 run (DiPiro kick) J - Hamby 32 run (DiPiro kick) J - DiPiro 29 field goal J - Max Ganger 1 run (DiPiro kick) J - Hamby 35 run (kick failed) B - Jake Rodriguez 7 run (Derek Miller pass from Rodriguez) J - Cam Inbody 7 run (DiPiro kick) B - Aaron Jimenez 11 pass from Rodriguez (Mendoza Martinez kick) Officials: Phil Tuskey, Roger Griffith, Mike Kelly, Mark McCammon, Jonathan Walma Statistics Bremen Jimtown 15 First downs 15 208 Yds rushing 329 74 Yds passing 5 6/13/1 Passes 1/1/0 1/-3 Punts 1/26 3/2 Fumbles/lost 0/0 5/35 Penalties 6/45