The Jaybirds capped off a perfect regular season Saturday in Patton Springs as they defeated the Rangers 56-0 at the half. It was yet another dominating performance for Jayton—this time highlighted by a Jaybird ground game that went for 188 yards on 7 carries.
The Jaybirds now set their sights on the postseason, looking to ride their stingy defense and high-powered offense into Guthrie Friday night, where they will play the Crowell Wildcats for round 1 of the UIL state playoffs.
“They’re a big, physical football team,” said Jaybirds Head Coach Josh Stanaland. “They run the ball well, they play really hard, they block well. Defensively they’re really aggressive and they’re ranked in the top 10. They’ve won eight ballgames and they’re a quality football team. They’re going to be well-prepared and we’ll have to have a good week.”
Crowell finished second in their district—after only after the #1-ranked Benjamin Mustangs—and mark an uptick in competition now that the playoffs have begun.
That being said, Stanaland has confidence in his Jaybird roster. “I like our kids, I’ll never bet against our kids,” he said. “If we can just continue to improve like we have all year long then we’re going to be a tough out for everybody.”
There is tremendous reason for confidence going forward. The Jaybirds’ offense has been led this year on the ground by sophomore running back Bode Ham, who rushed for 948 yards on 55 carries and scored 18 touchdowns.
The season passing leader is sophomore Sean Stanaland, who threw for 829 yards with 19 touchdowns and 0 interceptions.
The leading receiver has been senior Justin Collins, who has 398 yards on 20 catches with 10 touchdowns.
Those numbers are even more impressive when you realize that the Jaybirds rarely played in the second half this season. Defensively Ham led the team with 90 tackles, Stanaland with 3 interceptions, and sophomore Colt Gentry with 6 fumble recoveries.
Now they look to ride that momentum into Guthrie and overwhelm the Wildcats.
It is playoff time in Jayton… finally!
- Log in or Subscribe to post comments.
