Jimtown High School

Bone-Jarring Defense lifts Jimmies to 37-7 conquest of John Glenn By Red Williams Free Lance Sportswriter ELKHART – A near-flawless effort by the defense spurred Jimtown High School to a victory in the opening round of the Indiana Football Tournament. The Jimmies &-3) overwhelmed visiting John Glenn, 37-7, Friday night (10.25.24) at Knepp Field. The 3A Sectional 25 game was played at a chilly 55+ degrees before a good crowd. The Jimmies will tangle with a tough Mishawaka Marian team next Friday at the Knights’ home field in a semifinal contest. Jimtown’s smothering, bone-jarring defense held the Falcons to just two first downs in the game with 28 yards on the ground, forcing six punts. “We had some hiccoughs along the way,” said Jimtown Coach Cody Vincent, “but I’m happy with the way they put it together.” Stalwarts on defense for the Jimmies were Cole Dutton, Christian Velazquez, Brodric Kaler, Jack Kite, Yohan Olivares, Ben McAllister and Javen Jackson. “My hat’s off to Jimtown,” said Glenn Coach Ron Brown. “We’ve had a lot of close games (this season), but I think our players represented themselves well. Jimtown’s a good team.” The Falcons (1-9) only lost 22-14 to the Jimmies in the regular season. Vincent also singled out the play of running back Ty Zartman, who rushed for nearly 300 yards in the game. “He’s incredible, an awesome kid,” he said, “the heartbeat of our team.” He actually rushed for 293 yards in 24 carries, most of that coming in two long jaunts of 70 and 81, the first for a touchdown and the second for a first-and-goal inside the five yard line. Jimtown drew first blood in the game marching the opening kickoff 61 yards in six plays. Scoring was Cooper Dillenbeck on a 33-yard pass from Mason Armstrong. The Jimmies were on the board in less than three minutes. Brayden Fox added the first of four extra-point kicks. He also had a 25-yard field goal to his credit, which came in the Jimmies’ next possession. Armstrong also had an 18-yard scoring aerial to Kite. The only surprise from Glenn was a nifty 92-yard kickoff return by the Falcons’ all-purpose quarterback Brayden Benwell in the second period. That cut Jimtown’s lead to 10-7, but the Falcons were stymied the rest of the game. A couple of other things Vincent is sure to address in the coming week is how the Jimmies allowed Armstrong to be sacked four times for a loss of 32 yards and the assessment of 10 penalties for 90 yards. Another highlight in the game was Jackson’s third-quarter punt return of 61 yards that took him across the goal line. The Jimmies final score was a one-yard plunge by Owen Glass, which followed Zartman’s 81-yard burst. SCORING Score by Quarters Team 1 2 3 4 OT Final Glenn 0 7 0 0 7 Jimtown 7 10 14 6 37 Scoring Plays J – Cooper Dillenbeck 33 pass from Mason Armstrong (Brayden Fox kick) J – Fox 25 field goal G – Brayden Benwell 92 kickoff return (AJ Putchio kick) J – Jack Kite 18 pass from Armstrong (Fox kick) J – Javen Jackson 61 punt return (Fox kick) J – Ty Zartman 70 run (Fox kick) J- Owen Glass 1 run (kick blocked Officials: Ref: Mike Burke, Ump Roger Griffith, HL Phil Toskey, LJ Mark McCammon, BJ John Walma. STATISTICS Teams Glenn Jimtown First downs 2 20 Rushing Yardage 28 364 (attempts/average) 25/1.12 56/6.5 Passing Yardage 11 156 (completions/attempts/intercp) 2-9-1 7-10-0 Punts/Average 6/39.7 1/44 Fumbles Made/Lost 1/0 3/2 Penalties/Yardage 2/23 10/90 Sacks/Yardage Lost 1/-10 5/-38