The Jayton Jaybirds entered their contest against Aspermont looking for retribution after last year’s tough defeat by the Hornets. The Jaybirds knew they were in for another tough game against an extremely physical team who would not treat this matchup as an away game, being less than half an hour from home. Mainstays such as quarterback Aaron Hernandez and running backs Tye Scogin and Pecos Smith would have to be sharp. Unbeknownst to everyone was that other faces would be asked to step up and lead the Jaybirds to victory.
Jayton defeated Aspermont 70 to 38 to keep their record undefeated on the season at 2 and 0. Aspermont, who won the coin toss to receive the opening kick, was held to a quick three and out to give the ball to the Jaybirds. Jayton would quickly score on a Scogin run, followed by a converted extra point by kicker Tripp Scott, to go up early. On the following drive, Scogin went down on defense with a shoulder injury that after a few series would end his night early.
Coach Josh Stanaland used this opportunity to show that Jayton has great depth behind their regular starters. “We were down to our third and fourth running backs,” said Stanaland. “We are already starting a freshmen (Nathaniel Williams) at center. We feel very confident in our depth.” Smith would explode, running on the ground for 3 touchdowns and 181 yards. Caleb Valerio would add a rushing touchdown of his own. Hernandez would spread the ball all over the field to Scott, Williams, Camron Benavides, and Even Cheyne for 4 touchdowns on 207 yards.
The Jaybird defense kept the Aspermont attack in check and never allowed the game to get interesting. Instead of causing turnovers through interceptions and fumbles, Jayton relied on disciplined play and hard tackling. Senior Thomas Mullen had a huge night on defense. After sitting out the entire season last year after transferring to Jayton, Mullen has finally been able to contribute for the Jaybirds on the field.
“It felt amazing to play tonight,” stated an excited Mullen. “No words can express what it’s like to get to play for this team. I feel speechless about what happened out there.” Mullen made the biggest play of the night, causing a safety by sacking the quarterback late in the contest to ice the game. “I knew that I didn’t have to cause the safety, I just wanted to get in the quarterback’s face to keep him from getting a good throw off to his receivers.” Mullen would do much more than that by catching the quarterback by his shoestrings to cause the home crowd to roar in approval. When Mullen rose to pump his fist in the air, the entire community exploded in support to celebrate the imminent victory.
Jayton will look to build on this game next week on Friday, at home against Chillicothe. The contest will be played at 8 p.m. The Jaybirds invite everyone in the surrounding area to come and support them in their season.
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