Jimtown High School

Jimmies outlast Lakeland, 44-34 By Red Williams Freelance Sports Writer LAGRANGE – Two powerful offensive units clashed here Friday night in high school football as defense stepped into the wings. Jimtown’s Jimmies used two fourth-quarter scores to wring out a 44-34 victory over the host Lakeland Lakers. But the Jimmies’ defense held off Lakeland as the clock finally ran out with the Lakers knocking at the door, too far behind to make the threat a daunting thought. A pale full moon watched over the “senior night” activities with a good crowd on hand for both schools. Jimtown finishes the regular season with a 6-3 record and will tangle at home next Friday with John Glenn as the Indiana playoffs open. The Lakers finish at 5-4 with a tough date at Garrett on tap. With just under 10 minutes left in the game, Lakeland took a 34-31 lead, but Braxton Laird covered the Lakers’ ensuing onside kick to snuff out their hopes. Six plays later Jimmy quarterback Mason Armstrong connected with Jack Kite for a five-yard score, and the Jimmies reclaimed the lead for good, 38-34. “Mason made the plays for us when we needed it,” said Jimtown Coach Cody Vincent. “He made all the right decisions.” Aided by a 15-yard penalty, the Jimmies marched quickly down the short field on a pair of damaging runs by Ty Zartman (17 yards and 18 yards) to set up Armstrong’s pass for the score at 7:05. “I’m proud of the way we kept fighting back,” Vincent said. The Lakers showed their hunger (having an 0-8 record against Jimtown) by drawing first blood in the contest. Their outstanding quarterback, Brayden Holbrook, just a junior who already has topped all Lakeland passing records, hit Keyan Arroyo with a 17-yard scoring pass with 9:08 showing on the first-quarter clock. He finished with 24 completions out of 37 attempts for 224 yards, but had a glaring interception with 3:08 left in the game. Kite returned it for 38 yards, setting up the Jimmies final tally, a 36-yard burst by Zartman. Armstrong also fared well through the air, nailing 10 of 13 tosses for 189 yards with no interceptions. “Their quarterback surely is headed for a major college,” Vincent said. Lakeland coach Ryan O’Shea corroborated that when he reported that Holbrook already has some Division 1 universities showing interest. O’Shea said Jimtown played like a well-oiled machine. “They were very efficient,” he said. “We knew we couldn’t let 19 (Zartman) get loose, and 2 (Javen Jackson) was very fast. They took advantage of what we gave them. But I thought we responded well.” Zartman ran like his hair was on fire, racking up 212 yards in 24 carries. Lakeland’s Carson Mickem ran well, also, with 149 yards in 21 totes. Vincent characterized the Lakers as “scrappy.” “They were explosive and dangerous,” he said. Some readers will remember that O’Shea was formerly on the Jimtown staff under Mike Campbell and still lives in the Baugo area. SCORING Score by Quarters OT Final Team 1 2 3 4 Final Jimtown 14 7 10 13 44 Lakeland 13 7 8 6 34 Scoring Plays L – Keyan Arroyo 17 pass from Brayden Holbrook (Carson Mickem kick) J – Javen Jackson 35 pass from Mason Armstrong (Brayden Fox kick) L – Mickem 17 run (kick blocked) J – Jackson 27 pass from Armstrong (Fox kick) L – Holbrook 6 run (Mickem kick) J – Ty Zartman 62 run (Fox kick) J – Fox 15 field goal J – Zartman 1 run (Fox kick) L – Bryar Alleshouse 91 kickoff return (Mickem run) L – Mickem 6 run (kick failed) J – Jack Kite 5 pass from Armstrong (Fox kick) J – Zartman 36 run (kick failed) Officials Ref: Dave Dillon (Wabash), ump: Bret Vandine (Huntington), HL: Chad Gibson (Elwood), L: Chris Lantz (Huntington), BJ: Gary Wells (Anderson) STATISTICS Teams Jimtown Lakeland First downs 15 27 Rushing Yardage 24 rushes for 208 37 rushes for 174 Passing Yardage 189 224 (completions/attempts/intercp) 10-13-0 24-37-1 Punts/Average 1/40 Fumbles Made/Lost 1/1 1/0 Penalties/Yardage 2/20 7/68 Sacks/Yardage Lost 1/-12 3/-17