Jimtown High School

Upset-minded Jimmies fail to capitalize in loss to Knox By Red Williams Freelance Sportswriter ELKHART - There was an electric excitement in the air. Could an upset of powerful Knox be possible? With less than four minutes to play in the first half, Jimtown’s Jimmies took a 21-20 lead in Friday night's opening round of the Indiana football playoffs. The home crowd at Knepp Field were high-fiving all over the place, and raucous voices of cheering raced up and down the Baugo sidelines. The Knox crowd sat in silent despair. Could their dreams of a state championship be evaporating into the cold autumn clime? Never fear, Mighty Myles was there. The Redskins’ vaunted running back Myles McLaughlin rallied the troops, Jimtown’s offence flattened, and undefeated Knox ran away with a 50-21 victory, bringing the Jimmies’ season to an abrupt finish. “We didn’t capitalize on the opportunities, like we did in the first half,” bemoaned Jimmies head coach, Cody Vincent. “We couldn’t keep up. I thought we had them where we wanted at the half (trailing just by 26-21), but we couldn’t finish it.” The Redskins, now 10-0, will be home next Friday for a Sectional 25 semi-final battle against Griffith, a 62-8 winner over Hammond Bishop Noll. The Jimmies are done at 2-8, but have some bright hopes for 2026. McLaughlin pummeled the Jimtown defense, twisting and turning, escaping one tackle after another, to pile up more than 400 rushing yards for the game. (His season average was 348.) The keen-eyed Knox senior (5-foot-11, 195 pounds) would take a direct snap from the center, approach the line of scrimmage to the left or right, look for a path to daylight, find it, and it was “catch me if you can.” And the Boys of Baugo were unable to do that, time after time. McLaughlin scored four long touchdowns of 64 yards (on the first play of the game), 37 yards, 69 yards and 43 yards, which capped the scoring in the game. He totaled seven TDs for the night. Here’s how the Jimmies made it exciting in the first half: After McLaughlin’s first TD (his run for the two-point conversion was stuffed), Baugo’s Chase Coughenour cranked off a long one of his own (36 yards), and the Jimmies went ahead when Junior Casas kicked the point-after. On the ensuing kick-off, the Redskins’ Ashton Walker muffed the catch, the ball bounced into the endzone, and Jimtown’s Jack Kite recovered it for a TD. Casas’ kick gave the Jimmies a 14-6 lead. Knox put together a 65-yard march to tie the score with 3:02 left in the first period. McLaughlin ran every play but one, and scored from the one-yard line. The Jimmies were forced to punt in the next series, their advance deterred by a pair of false-start penalties, and the Redskins responded with a 66-yard drive that ended with McLaughlin’s six-yard smash for the score. (Again, his PAT run was stopped.) Jimtown rallied for a 63-yard drive, highlighted by Owen Glass’ four-yard burst on fourth-and-one and a 28-yard pass from Cam Inbody to Nash Hamby. The Jimmies finished it off with a 19-yard scoring pass from Inbody to a wide-open Tre Baldwin. Casas’ kick gave Baugo the lead, 21-20, with just 3:53 to play in the first half. But Knox fought back to take a 26-21 lead into the locker-room. A controversial call was a highlight. McLaughlin’s pass to Walker for 38 yards appeared to be fumbled and recovered by Jimtown, but officials ruled the receiver was down. McLaughlin then ripped off his 37-yard TD jaunt. Knox coach Russ Radtke called for some defensive changes for the Redskins in the second half that stymied the Jimmies’ attack, holding them scoreless after the intermission. Scoring Jimtown 14 7 0 0 21 Knox 14 12 8 16 50 K - Myles McLaughlin, 64 run (run failed) J - Chase Coughenour, 36 run (Junior Casas kick) J - Jack Kite, recovered fumble in endzone (Casas kick) K - McLaughlin, 1 run (McLaughlin run) K - McLaughlin, 6 run (run failed) J - Tre Baldwin, 19 pass from Cam In body (Casas kick) K - McLaughlin, 37 run (run failed) K - McLaughlin, 1 run (McLaughlin run) K - McLaughlin, 69 run (McLaughlin run) K - McLaughlin, 43 run (Camden Garner run) Officials: Michael Burke (Ligonier), ref; Phil Tuskey (Mishawaka), ump; Roger Griffith (Goshen), BJ; Mark McCammon (Granger), LJ; Jonathan Wilma (LaPorte), HL.