Playoff football finally arrived for the Jaybirds Friday night in Guthrie as Jayton faced the Crowell Wildcats in the bi-district round.
Credit the Wildcats for coming out excited. Crowell took the opening kickoff and methodically rumbled down the field to score on an opening drive that took right at five minutes of the first quarter.
They kicked off to Jayton, and the Jaybirds first two plays went nowhere: first an incomplete pass and then a tackle for a loss. But it was on 3rd and 17 from their own 35 that sophomore quarterback Sean Stanaland took matters into his own hands, breaking the pocket, and scrambling down the sideline for a 45-yard touchdown run.
The Jaybirds would never look back. They smothered the Wildcat offense and scored 30 more first half points to lead 38-8 at the half. Two secondhalf fumbles delayed the inevitable for the Jaybirds, but ultimately Jayton ended the night early in the fourth quarter to the tune of a 61-16 pounding of Crowell for Jayton’s 8th straight bi-district championship.
“I thought we started a little slow,” said Jayton head coach Josh Stanaland. “We kind of let Crowell have their perfect drive to start out…but once we woke up we played pretty well.”
Leading the charge for the Jaybirds was sophomore Bode Ham, who rushed for 141 yards on 6 carries with 2 touchdowns and caught 4 passes for 75 yards and 3 more scores. Ham also led the Jaybirds with 20 tackles and an interception.
“Bode is a nightmare,” noted Stanaland. “He’s put on a lot of weight and been great in the weight room and he’ll hit you. And then offensively, I tell them that I wouldn’t be able to touch him in a phone booth, he runs hard and he runs physical and has great vision.”
The Jaybirds continue their postseason run this Friday night at 7:00 p.m. in Trent, Texas, where they will face the Strawn Greyhounds, who upended Throckmorton this past week 67-36 to advance.
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