Bluejays Fly High, On The Ground At Winamac!
As far as contrasting weather conditions go, there was no greater difference than there was between October 31st and November 1st. A night after Mother Nature made trick-or-treating a challenge for area kids, she was smiling over Roudebush Field at Winamac High School on Friday night, as the Warriors played host to the North Judson San-Pierre Bluejays in the Semifinal Round of Sectional 41. From start to finish, there felt to be points for both teams where they appeared to be in control. It was the Bluejays who would find enough offense to come away with a 16-0 win.
The Jays came out at the start going with a fast paced, hurry-up style offense in an attempt to catch the Warriors off guard. The strategy appeared to be the perfect style of play for the Jays as they were able to march down the field with a rushing attack that had a great amount of variety, going from straight up power run plays, to toss plays, to counters. The Bluejay offensive attack of old was effective as they rammed the ball down the field against the Warriors. Once the Jays got the ball inside the five yard-line, the Warrior defense tightened up, and was able to stop the Bluejays dead in their tracks when it appeared the boys from Starke County were well on their way to getting the first points of the evening, with 8:30 left to go in the first quarter of play.
It would be the punt teams that would be getting a good workout, as the two offenses struggled to sustain drives early in the ballgame. It was, in fact, a defensive play that would spark the first scoring drive of the game, as Junior Eli Blount was able to intercept a Warrior pass attempt to give the ball back to the Bluejays early in the second quarter. The Bluejays stayed with their initial game plan as they stuck with the rushing attack with a steady dose of Blount, Cheyenne Allen, and Trey Hampton to push the ball down the field. It would be Hampton who was able to get the ball across the goal line on a five yard quarterback sneak to give the Jays their first score of the game. After the successful two-point conversion, the Jays had an 8-0 lead with 2:58 remaining in the half.
On the ensuing drive, the Bluejays defense would provide enough pressure on the Warriors offense to put them in a situation where they were forced to punt from deep in their own territory. With the Warriors backed up near their own goal line, the punt team entered the field. The situation ended up being a worst case scenario for Winamac. The snap went over the head of the punter, who then had to chase the ball down in the end zone and fall on it to prevent the Jays from scoring a touchdown. The play resulted in giving the Bluejays a safety, which meant the Warriors would be kicking the ball back to the boys from Starke County, who now led the game 10-0, with 1:48 left to go in the first half. The back and forth between the two old rivals continued throughout the final minutes of the half. The Bluejays appeared to be on the verge of scoring once more before halftime, but it would be the pass coverage of the Warriors stepping in to intercept a Bluejay pass to put an end to the North Judson drive, as well as the first half of play, leaving the score at 10-0 in favor of the Jays at intermission.
The Warriors had the ball as the second half began at Winamac High School. With Winamac still very much in the game, it felt as though one play could make all the difference for the Warriors. Winamac came out with good energy and were running their offense with a fair amount of success. That was, until 6’0 200lb Senior defensive lineman Nolan Shidler decided to make his presence felt. It was not how one would expect though, as many would believe the big play from the veteran Senior would have come on a big tackle for loss, or a quarterback sack. However, the big play from the grizzled lineman came on an interception off of a tipped pass, which he was able to secure, giving the Bluejays the ball and the momentum. The Jays, though, would not be able to get anything going, and ended up giving the ball back to the Warriors. Once again, Winamac would show signs of getting momentum on their side, as their multidimensional offensive attack began to pick up steam. The Warriors utilized quarterback Russell Compton in a variety of ways throughout the game as he had 22 pass attempts, to go along with 8 rushing attempts. The biggest pass completion for Compton came in the third quarter when he was able to find Junior teammate Trent Fox for a 23 yard completion. Eventually though, the Bluejays defense would come through, as they did throughout the entire game. The drive would end with a Warriors punt, and just 3:10 left to go in the 3rd quarter, with the Jays still holding on to a 10-0 lead.
With the Jays looking to eat up as much clock as they could with their remaining possessions, they did not look for any sort of “kill shot”. They remained true to their base offense, as well as keeping the clock moving, which ended up in an eventual punt by North Judson. The Warriors were able to get the ball back with still plenty of time remaining. It would be the Bluejay defense though stepping up once again, making a huge play in pass coverage as they intercepted a pass on the Winamac 8-yard line with the third quarter coming to an end and the Jays still leading 10-0. As the 4th quarter began with North Judson in possession of the ball, it appeared that the Jays were just moments away from putting the game entirely out of reach. With a last gasp of determination, the Warrior defense was able to make a goal line stand and regain possession of the ball. The Winamac offense began to move the ball with a little more energy as time started to work in favor of the Bluejays. It would be with 8:33 left in the ballgame that the Jays would once again put an end to a Warrior drive, as the defense was able to force a fumble and regain possession with just 8:24 remaining in the game. Wanting to get the clock moving again, the Jays went back to their ground game and were able to take another 3:00 minutes off the clock. With everyone at Roudebush Field fully expecting the Jays to try and run the clock out, North Judson fooled nearly everyone, by going to the air one more time. The only people not fooled were the defenders of the Warriors, as they were able to intercept a pass on their own 10 yard line, with just 5:05 remaining in the game.
Winamac’s drive would ultimately stall out, and the Jays would take over on downs at the Winamac 30. It would take North Judson a little less than a minute to put the final score on the board, as Eli Blount would find the end zone for the Jays from one yard out. After a failed extra point attempt, the Jays led 16-0, which would be the final score of the Sectional Semifinal bout.
Each team was able to showcase a number of individuals on both sides of the ball throughout the course of the game. Eli Blount led North Judson in rushing with 22 carries for 92 yards and a 1-yard touchdown, followed by Cheyenne Allen, who had 13 carries for 47 yards. Trey Hampton added 12 carries for 36 yards, and a 5-yard touchdown. Tabor Brown had 3 carries for 15 yards to round out the Bluejays 50 rushing attempts as a team for 190 yards and 2 touchdowns. For the Warriors, it was Russell Compton leading the team in rushing and passing yardage, as he carried the ball 4 times for 30 yards, while going 8-22 passing for 89 yards. Trent Fox completed the Warriors’ other pass on a 6-yard toss to Keith Dell. Fox would also lead the team in receiving yardage as he hauled in 4 receptions for 49 yards. Brayden Lynch would add 3 receptions for 27 yards, with Gabe Townsend accounting for the other reception for 13 yards. Townsend also contributed 22 yards rushing on 5 carries in the ballgame.
The Winamac Warriors end their season with an overall record of 5-6, while the Bluejays improve to 6-4, and a birth in next week’s Sectional Championship game against the Culver Cavaliers, who defeated South Central 14-6 in the other bracket of Sectional 41. It will be the second time the Bluejays and Cavaliers have faced each other this season, as the Jays defeated the Cavs in week one, 26-24!
*Statistics Provided by Kankakee Valley Broadcasting Staff