Jayton falls short against Blackwell in quarterfinal

On a foggy night at Borden County, the Jayton Jaybirds were defeated by the Blackwell Hornets 62 to 54.

This state quarterfinal loss ended the season for a team with high aspirations. The game was back and forth throughout the first half, with the Jaybirds able to take an early lead going into the second quarter. Blackwell evened the score in the second half to tie the ball game at 22. The Jaybirds, who opened the second half with the ball, looked to make a statement score that would propel them into taking control of the game.

The opposite would happen as Blackwell stopped the Jaybirds on downs and scored on the following possession. The rest of the game saw the Jaybirds playing from behind, never allowing the score to get out of hand. There were several opportunities for the Jayton defense to make a stop, but the Blackwell attack continued to move the chains to keep a close distance ahead of the Jaybirds.

With a minute left in the game, Jayton scored to have a chance to convert an onside kick that would provide an opportunity to tie the game. The game would be ended when the Hornets would possess the kick from Tripp Scott and run out the clock by kneeling on the next possession.

The accomplishments of the Jayton Jaybirds go well beyond this season. Seniors Tye Scogin, Aaron Hernandez, Thomas Mullen, Camron Benavides, Evan Cheyne, & Alex Chism have brought the program to higher levels of success that will impact the next several years.

This senior group amassed 43 victories over their high school career. For the past four years the program has been playoff bound, and they made it three rounds or deeper in the playoffs three times. The level of difficulty to have so much success consistently is accomplished by a team that will buy in to their coaches’ leadership and work diligently day by day to meet their goals.

While the Jaybirds will feel disappointed to lose this ball game, no one can deny the level of success the program enjoys as a result of such strong leadership. As underclassmen will prepare to fill in the shoes of numbers 32 (Scogin), 21 (Hernandez), 7 (Mullen) 18 (Benavides), 44 (Cheyne), and 45 (Chism), they will do so following an example that has paved the way for greater opportunities.

The season may be over, but this program led by Head Coach Josh Stanaland and assistant coaches Ryan Bleiker, James King and Jason Blankenship has nowhere to look but up as others will follow the pattern of achievement that has been paved by incredible seniors. The future is bright for Jayton Jaybird football.