Jimtown High School

Brilliant rally ends up one point short for Jimmies By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - Jimtown’s “comeback kids” staged a gutsy rally Friday night (10.10.25) in high school football only to suffer a heart-rending loss to LaVille, 28-27, in overtime. A good-sized crowd was on hand for the “pink night” contest under cloudy skies with a brief period of rain at Knepp Field. (“Pink” was to raise awareness of breast cancer.) The difference: The Lancers were able to convert their point-after kick by Caleb Skiles, while the Jimmies suffered a miss when the hike went high, and Junior Casas was unable to kick the ball. The Jimmies fall to 1-7 for the season (0-5 in the Indiana Northern State Conference) and LaVille evens its record at 4-4 and 2-3. “I thought we had them in overtime,” said Jimmy Coach Cody Vincent. “It was a big advantage getting the ball at the ten.” Jimtown wasted no time in its OT opportunity: A pitchout to Nash Hamby resulted in an easy touchdown around left end. But holder Kolton Vitali was forced to stand up from his kneeling position on the PAT hike, and was brought to the turf by the marauding Lancer defense. LaVille was forced to run three plays before scoring the tying TD, partially stymied by a 5-yard penalty for a false start. On the second play, Lancer quarterback Brayden Schwitz was stopped just a yard short after an 11-yard sweep around the right end. Cole Stafford finished it with a dive thru the line from the one. But the highlight of the night was Jimtown’s brilliant rally in the second half. “I’m so proud of the way we came back,” Vincent said. “It showed a lot of fortitude.” LaVille took a 21-7 lead with 6:09 left in the third period on a 42-yard pass play from Schwitz to Stafford. It was set up on a fumble recovery by Kaid Hernandez. Schwitz had an excellent night passing, hitting 14 of 17, completing his first 10 in a row. But the Jimmies then staged their comeback, engineered by junior QB Cam Inbody, who completed three short passes in the 74-yard drive, and Chase Coughenour, who twisted and turned for 25 yards on one scamper to the LaVille 30. Owen Glass toted the ball in from the three for the TD on the first play of the fourth quarter. The Baugo defense stiffened following the ensuing kick-off, forcing LaVille’s only punt, giving Jimtown good field position at its own 49. The Jimmies took just eight plays to reach paydirt, with Glass again getting the score from the one. The drive was highlighted by a 23-yard pass from Inbody to Zander Whitaker, who made a spectacular leaping catch between two LaVille defensive backs. Inbody sprinted into the endzone for a two-point conversion, sending the game into overtime. The Boys of Baugo finish up their regular season next Friday (10.17.25) with a visit from Lakeland. Scoring LaVille 7 0 14 0 7 28 Jimtown 0 7 0 14 6 27 L: Cole Stafford 3 run (Caleb Skiles kick) J: Owen Glass 2 run (Junior Casas kick) L: Stafford 5 run (Skiles kick) L: Konner Amor 42 pass from Brayden Schwitz (Skiles kick) J: Glass 3 run (kick failed) J: Glass 1 run (Cam Inbody run) J: Nash Hamby 10 run (run failed) L: Stafford 1 run (Skiles kick) Officials: Shawn Jenkins (South Bend), referee; Chris Matthys (Crumstown), umpire; Chad Davis (Mishawaka), head linesman; Brett Botts (Granger), back judge; Savon Williams (South Bend), line judge. Statistics LaVille Jimtown 16 First Downs 18 121 Yards Rushing 141 173 Yards Passing 109 14-17-0 Passes 11-15-0 1/33 Punts 3/27 ave 3/1 Fumbles/Lost 2/1 8/72 Penalties/Yards 4/20