Defense dominates in Jaguars win over Shawnee Mission West

Quarterback Holden Applebee hands the ball off to running back Max Piva. Applebee passed for 176 yards and three touchdowns while Piva rushed for 176 yards and had three overall touchdowns.

By Todd Habiger

The only thing stickier than the night air at the Mill Valley-Shawnee Mission West football game Thursday night was the Jaguars defense. The Jaguars hounded and harassed the Vikings offense all night long, ultimately pitching a 51-0 shutout.

It was the second straight week the Jaguars dominated on defense.

“We came out great,” said senior defensive back Braydon Jones. “We came out with a lot of effort at the beginning, and carried it through with our backups. They played real hard, powered through, and kept the shutout intact.”

One of the highlights of the night was a goalline stand in the fourth quarter by the second team defense to preserve the shutout. 

West had the ball first and goal at the one yard line and the Jaguars defense held.

“They really stepped up when they needed to and did an outstanding job,” Jaguars head coach Joel Applebee said.” That's what I love to see. more than anything. We want to see them compete all game long and they did just that.”

Mill Valley started off with good field position after a bad snap on a punt led to the Vikings punter coming up short of the first down.  

Jaguars quarterback Holden Applebee connected with running back Max Piva for a nine yard touchdown pass. To put the Jaguars up 7-0.

On the Jaguars second possession, Applebee hit wide receiver Anthony Clem for a 50 yard touchdown pass at a 14-0 lead. 

Mill Valley looked to be heading for another touchdown until they fumbled in the red zone. It ended up working out for the Jaguars as a bad snap from the Vikings led to a safety. 

After a poor free kick from the Vikings, Mill Valley capitalized on an Applebee to Ryan Helm touchdown pass for a 23-0 lead. 

On the Jaguars next possession, Piva broke free for a 65 yard touchdown run and the Jaguars went into the half up 30-0.

Despite the big lead, the Jaguars played a sloppy first half on offense. Holds and false starts had Mill Valley frequently in long yardage situations.

You can run but you can’t hide from the Jaguars defense. The Shawnee Mission West runner finds there’s no escape from the relentless Mill Valley defense.

Jaguars offensive lineman Tatum Wash said that the offense had a lack of focus early on that hurt them.

“We were coming off a hot win last week and going against not as good competition,” Wash said. “We weren’t locked in. It’s Thursday, there are not a lot of fans, we just had to find a way to bring our own energy.”

Eventually the offensive line found its rhythm and the penalties went away. Wash said that it's a precursor of things to come.

“By the end of the year we’re going to be a tough team to beat,” he said. “We’re not going to give up a lot of sacks. We’re not going to give up tackles for loss. Teams are going to have to blitz. They’re going to have to do everything to get past us.”

Holden Applebee was happy with how the team responded after the mistake-riddled first half.

“We didn’t play our best but we still scored 51 points,” he said. “We have to clean some stuff up but we’re going to be great.”

The Jaguars started the second half with good field position at midfield. It took Piva one play to find the endzone, scoring from 49 yards out to increase the Jaguars lead to 37-0.

Later, Anthony Clem scored his second touchdown of the night on a four yard run to make it 44-0. 

Then the backups finished things off. 

Quarterbacks Leo Keck and Gabe Howard finished the game for the Jaguars. Holden Applebee was happy to see his backups have success. Howard finished off the Jaguars score with a long touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

“I thought they played great,” Applebee said. “They were ready for this. They knew they were probably going to get in so I’m very proud of them. Leo had a great block, which you usually don’t see quarterbacks do and then Gabe, obviously with a touchdown.”

Safety Blue Zambo said that the defense is putting it all together as the Jaguars reach the midway point of the regular season.

“We got some dawgs all around the board,” Zambo said. “The linebackers are playing great; the corners are locking down; the d-line is getting pressure. We’re all playing together.”

The Jaguars return home to the Swamp next week to take on Olathe South.