DANE FUELLING
WZBD.com
MONROE – The #3 Adams Central Jets lost a home game for the first time since November of 2020 Friday, dropping their Week Two matchup against #8 Eastside in a thriller, 21-14.
A defensive battle in the first half, which was scoreless until the dying seconds, turned into a game of trading touchdowns in the second half, but it was Eastside who had the final say with a wild touchdown on a broken play to break a 14-14 tie.
In what has become a spirited rivalry with much respect between both programs, the context for the game was fascinating. Once smaller than Eastside, the Jets began the rivalry as the smaller school, playing against a 2A powerhouse.
One state title and two consecutive seasons of knocking the Blazers out of the state tournament later, the Jets find themselves with a larger enrollment than the school from Butler and playing in 3A for at least the next two seasons.
Four defeats in the past two seasons were more than enough to provide the motivation for the Eastside team.
Noah Dove made the game go early in the visitors’ favor with a fantastic return of the opening kickoff for 80 yards, but the offense was stopped and the Blazers missed a 25-yard field goal.
The field position game was in Eastside’s favor, though, and Adams Central was forced to punt twice, while also missing a fourth-down try on their next three possessions. The Blazers, in contrast, started their next two drives at midfield.
After the failed fourth-down try inside the 10, Job Richman led the Blazer offense on a drive that lasted nearly eight minutes. It ended with Richman dumping the ball off to Dove near the goal line, where he side-stepped the DB and opened his scoring account with a 19-yd touchdown catch.
With just 16 seconds remaining in the half, Adams Central elected not to kneel and instead went downfield. The final play of the half ended with an interception that was almost a disaster if not for a last-gasp tackle by Ben Hirschy.
Adams Central’s offense was ready to go in the second half and Jami Roach led the Jets right down the field on a 71-yard drive that ended with a touchdown on a QB sneak from the one-yard line.
The two teams traded punts, but Adams Central’s was returned by Dove for a crowd-quieting 71-yard score.
Adams Central answered back and tied the game at 14 when Thomas Laughlin ran it in after Ashton Yergler had a big catch to set up the score.
The play of the game followed.
Near midfield, Richman rolled left and was facing a sack when he peeled back on a broken play. As he was being dragged down in the middle of the field, he threw a desperation pass to the sideline which was caught by Dove. The playmaker sped toward the goal line and just out-ran Roach at the goal line for the game’s final score.
Adams Central’s best chance to answer and force overtime ended in an interception by Bo Martin with three minutes left. By the time the Jets forced a punt, they were left with just 45 seconds and 86 yards to go and it was too much to ask.
Richman finished with 139 yards on the ground. He had 26 of the team’s 35 rushing attempts.
Adams Central limited Dove to just 33 yards rushing (on nine attempts), but he burned the Jets on the returns. Dove’s only two catches both went for scores and he finished with 250 all-purpose yards.
Yergler had four catches for 67 yards for the Jets, with Roach finishing 6 of 20 for 77 yards in the air.
Xander Schwartz gained 68 yards on ten carries. He led the defense, along with David Fisher and Griffin Bluhm with a dozen tackles.
The Jets will have little time to worry about Eastside and the loss of their home winning streak as they face an arguably tougher challenge in Week 3 when they go to Tippy Valley, who are already 2-0 on the season.
Fans of Adams Central can rest assured that they can hear their team in Week 3. WZBD’s team will be there to cover all the action on 92.7 FM.
Eastside will open NECC play against Central Noble in Week Three.
SCORING SUMMARY
Quarter 1
No Scoring
Quarter 2
:16 – E – Noah Dove 19-yd catch from Job Richman, Kitchen PAT good, 7-0
Quarter 3
8:28 – AC – Jamison Roach 1-yd catch, Cowans PAT good, 7-7
1:15 – E – Noah Dove 38-yd punt return, Kitchen PAT good, 14-7
Quarter 4
7:03 – AC – Thomas Laughlin 4-yd run, Cowans PAT good, 14-14
4:55 – E – Noah Dove 53-yd catch from Richman, Kitchen PAT good, 21-14
About the Author
