Patriots Grab a Win from Governors on Homecoming Night, 26-7
After a couple weeks away from Dumplin Valley, the Jefferson County Patriots hosted the William Blount Governors for their homecoming game.
Even though the Patriots endured a hard fought battle and came out with the victory, the real stars of the show were the Homecoming representatives that did a beautiful job honoring each of their classes. Voted on by their peers, the ladies were presented during halftime of the game, along with their escorts from the Jefferson County JROTC. The Queen of the 2016 Jefferson County Homecoming was crowned: Ashtyn Fritz, daughter of Eric and Melanie Fritz. Ashtyn is a member of the JCHS Lady Patriots Varsity Soccer team, Patriot Events Council, Patriot Pals, Beta Club, National Honors Society, YoungLife, and Tennessee Teens Talk Tobacco. Congratulations to Ashtyn and all the other representatives.
After three hard losses and a bye week, the Jefferson County Patriots were hungry for a win against William Blount. The Govs were the first to receive, and in the first drive attempt of the game the Jefferson County defense started showing their stuff. After pushing the Governors way back, the defense was actually the first to score with a safety, putting the Patriots ahead 2-0. This was the show most of the first half of the game, as the Patriot defense held back the Governors’ offense to under 50 yards for the time. Only allowed in to the redzone a couple of times, William Blount failed to perform under the pressure of the Patriot defense, and was limited to one field goal for the first half of play.
Unfortunately for Jefferson County, the William Blount defense was rocking just as hard, and the Patriot offense seemingly moved in slow motion for most of the first half of the game. Although getting almost double the yardage compared to the Govs’ offense, they just couldn’t break the barrier. Even after an over 40 yard pass from Sexton to Fine that would put the Patriots in to scoring position, the next play ended with with a William Blount interception with just about a minute left in the half. The score at halftime was William Blount 3, Jefferson County 2.
Whatever was tweaked in the locker room at halftime must have worked, as the second half of the game was a stark contrast to the first.
Ealy was deep to receive for the Patriots for the opening kickoff of the half, and made a run for it. After setting up the offensive line deep into Govs territory, it looked like the Patriots were poised to score. After making it to the endzone, flags flew everywhere, and a holding penalty called the play back. Unfortunately, during this drive the Patriots could not recover, and after knocking the ball out of Sexton’s hands, the Govs got the ball back. That didn’t last long, as Royster jumped on a loose ball to regain possession for the Patriots. Following a decent drive down the field, the Patriots were limited to try for a field goal, which Gayton hit with ease, finally giving the Patriots the lead back 5-2.
The Patriots defense showed off once again, as Dial grabbed the ball back for Jefferson County. This time the Patriots offense finally cashed in. After a tough drive that spanned most of the field, Woods plowed his way into the endzone for the first touchdown of the evening.
It didn’t take long into the fourth quarter for the Patriots to score again, finishing off a drive that they began late in the third. Another quick drive from Woods put a larger gap in the Patriots’ lead, but William Blount was not going down without a fight. They answered with a pass into the endzone, closing within two points of the Patriots, making fans bite their nails in the final few minutes of the game. After forcing the Patriots to punt, the Govs had the ball back. Deciding to pass with Dial on the field proved to be a bad decision for the Govs offense, and the Patriots had the ball back once again. Deep into the redzone, Sexton made it count with a keeper, and gave the Patriots a cushion. To seal the deal, Royster snatched a fumbled ball late in the game, and after a long first half the Patriots grabbed the win 26-7. The Patriot defense proved just how tight it can be, limiting the Governors’ offense and causing several turnovers. Complete with four sacks against the Govs, they proved just how tight the JCHS D-line can be.
Next week, the Patriots travel to Hardin Valley to face off against the 4-2 Hawks. Hardin Valley is also coming off an impressive win, after traveling to Science Hill and wiping the field with them 23-7. Kickoff is set for 7:30 on Friday.
