Mistakes plague Jaguars in loss

Game two

The time read 8:44 in the second quarter before the Mill Valley Jaguars defense finally took the field against the Lee’s Summit North Broncos at yet the team was trailing 13-7. It  was that kind of night for the Jaguars where mistakes doomed them and they eventually fell to the Broncos 31-21 in a hard fought game.

“I’m feeling a little sad but I keep my chin held high because I know what we are capable of,” said senior wide receiver Bryce Shorten. “It is a tough loss but a great opportunity to get better, and we wouldn’t want our opponents to be anything but the best.”

So how did we get here? Like I said, it was a weird night.

Senior running back Reggie Reece surveys the field looking for a running lane. Reggie ran for 78 yards and a touchdown on the night.

The Jaguars took the opening kickoff and marched down the field going up 7-0 on a Reggie Reece 1 yard touchdown plunge.

The excitement was short lived as the Broncos took the kickoff 94 yards to the house. The extra point was missed leaving the Jaguars with a 7-6 lead.

Just as they did on the opening drive the Jaguars moved methodically down the field and inside the 5 yard line when disaster struck. 

Jaguars quarterback Blake Jay took a violent hit trying to get the ball into the end zone and was forced to leave the game.

With backup quarterback Stone Zambo running the red zone offense the exchange between quarterback and running back hit the ground and was picked up by a Broncos defender for an 89 yard scoop and score.

The score stayed that way until late in the second quarter when running back Max Piva powered his way into the endzone from 15 yards out to give the Jaguars a 14-13 lead with 2:36 left in the half. 

Lee’s Summit looked to rally, mounting a drive that took them inside the 10 yard line. The Jaguars defense was up to the challenge and forced a fumble at the goal line ending the Broncos threat and the half.

Senior Garrett Cox comes up with a big turnover on the opening kickoff of the second half.

Mill Valley kicked off to start the second half. Using a squib kick Mill Valley’s Garret Cox recovered the ball on special teams and the Jaguars were back in business. 

Mill Valley failed to capitalize on the turnover and ended up giving the ball up on downs. With 7:53 left in the game Blake Jay scored from three yards out to give the Jaguars a 21-13 lead. 

Lee’s Summit mounted a quick scoring drive and cut the lead to 21-19. The Broncos then forced a three and out and then struck quickly again and suddenly had a 25-21 lead. 

As the Jaguars tried to rally on their next possession the Broncos intercepted a Blake Jay pass and eventually scored with about 2 minutes left in the game giving them a commanding 31-21 lead.

Despite the score the defense played well limiting the Broncos to 98 rushing yards and 125 passing yards.

Senior defensive lineman Hayden Heller said that the Jaguars played with a lot of heart in the face of adversity and learned a lot from this game.

“We learned that once we let up and lose focus, we also lose ourselves and control of the game,” Heller said. “All we can do is watch film, learn, and apply moving forward.”

Shorten echoed those comments and vowed that the team would learn from this experience.

“The team is going to learn from this game starting tomorrow in film,” Shorten said. “Then we can apply the things we are coached on in film to future practices and games.”

Mill Valley will play at home next Friday — senior night — against a Shawnee Mission East which has opened their season with impressive wins against Olathe Northwest and Topeka Seaman. Game time is at 7 p.m. To see more photos of this game go to www.centerstageseniros.com and click on the Center Stage Sports link.