Jimtown High School

Jimmies’ recovery too late, too short By Red Williams Freelance Sports Writer ELKHART – What went wrong? Hammered into a stupor Friday night, Jimtown High School’s football squad was systematically squashed, 41-28, by the visiting Knox Redskins. The Knox surprise attack stunned the Jimmies into a silent reverie in the first half, putting them into a hole they couldn’t climb. “Our plan didn’t work out,” said Jimmy Coach Cody Vincent. “They played us entirely different than any other team. I could tell by our body language something had to be done. And they responded well.” The Jimmies fell behind 28-0 in the first half, and the Redskin’s domination on both sides of the ball was like having the door slammed in your face. A large home crowd was evident in Sharpe Stadium, enjoying a salute to Jimtown’s senior class, but the small Knox crowd had the most to cheer about. The loss sheared off the Jimmies four-game winning streak, leaving them 4-3 overall and 3-1 in the Northern Indiana State Conference. Knox moves to 5-2 and 4-0 with two games left. The Redskins took off like a whirlwind, scoring TDs the first four times they had the ball. The chief nemesis for Knox was junior quarterback Myles McLaughlin, who resembled a fire hydrant with wheels. He rushed for 262 yards in 22 carries and scored five TDs, three of which were long: 36, 36, and 70 yarders. Three of those TDs came in the first half as the Redskins built a 28-0 lead. He expertly executed the read-option play repeatedly. The Jimmies’ offense was kept off the field for the most part and didn’t register their initial first down until 8:38 showed on the second-quarter clock. Finally Ty Zartman cracked the bubble with a blazing 71-yard jaunt to the end zone with 4:30 left in the half. By the way, Zartman nearly matched McLaughlin’s effort, logging 178 yards in 20 totes of the ball. He leveled many would-be Redskin tacklers and carried some with him in the process. The Jimmies raised a strong rally in the final quarter with a three-TD effort. After McLaughlin’s 70-yard TD run that made the score, 41-7, on the second play of the fourth frame, Xander Hummel turned in a nifty 44-yard TD on a fly-right pitch at 8:18. Jimmy Nash Hamby recovered Jimtown’s pooch kick-off that followed at the Knox 34, and Mason Armstrong connected with Javen Jackson on a 24-yard pass to the end zone at 6:19. Hummel’s point-after run narrowed it to 41-21. The Jimmy defense stiffened to give the offense another shot. And Armstrong connected with Jackson again on a 19-yard connection for a TD with 39 ticks on the clock. Jackson leaped high over the Redskin defender to snatch the ball. “I’m proud of the way we responded,” Vincent said. “They kept on fighting and put a good half together.” He applauded the play of the offensive line and singled out the play of Owen Glass and Zartman (on both offense and defense). The Jimmies travel to LaVille next Friday for another league contest. SCORING Score by Quarters OT Final Team 1 2 3 4 Knox 14 14 7 6 41 Jimtown 0 7 0 21 28 Scoring Plays K: Myles McLaughlin 36 run (run failed) K: McLaughlin 36 run (Jake Conroy run) K: McLaughlin 1 run (Conroy run) K: Conroy 45 run (kick blocked) J: Ty Zartman 71 run (Brayden Fox kick) K: McLaughlin 12 run (Conroy kick) K: McLaughlin 70 run (pass failed) J: Xander Hummel 44 run (pass failed) J: Javen Jackson 24 pass from Mason Armstrong (Hummel run) J: Jackson 19 pass from Armstrong (Fox kick) Officials: Shawn Jenkins, Chris Matthys, Savon Williams, Brendon Turner, Chadd Davis, St. Joseph Valley Officials Association. STATISTICS Teams Knox Jimtown First downs 15 19 Rushing Yardage 365 304 (attempts/average) 39/9.4 39/7.8 Passing Yardage 52 55 (completions/attempts/intercp) 1-2-0 3-16-1 Punts/Average 1/41 3/31 Fumbles Made/Lost 2/1 1/0 Penalties/Yardage 10/66 10/63