Playoff Qualifying Round--Jets VS Shickley@Shickley
October 25, 2007
by Brent Heusman
October 26, 2007
Shickley 26 Sterling 24
In qualifying round action last Thursday, the Shickley Longhorns
were able to hold off a late Sterling Jet rally by intercepting a
pass with under a minute to go to seal the victory.
The Longhorns were able to get the scoring started on a 79 yard run
by Jaron Nelson. The extra point was converted on a kick by Kyle
Davis. Shickley was able to add a field goal late in the quarter on
a Davis 21 yard boot. The Longhorns carried a 10 to 0 lead into the
2nd quarter of play.
The Jets were able to turn the tide in the 2nd quarter accounting
for 2 scores of their own. Brandon Nieveen found the endzone 1st
from 36 yards out. The PAT(Point After Touchdown) pass failed. To
close the 1st half scoring Nieveen was able to hook up with Kyle
Lowmack from 37 yards out. The PAT run failed. The Jets took a
12-10 lead into the halftime break.
Shickley was able to take the lead back early in the 3rd quarter on
a 7 yard pass from Michael Reinsch to Davis. The PAT was converted
on a on a Reinsch to Spencer Walters hookup. The score was 18 to 12
at this point. Shickley got their final score of the night late in
the 3rd quarter on a 42 yard pass from Reinsch to Luke Schweitzer.
A Reinsch to Walters hookup converted the PAT. The Longhorns
carried a 26 to 12 lead entering the 4th quarter.
The Jets got back into the contest early in the 4th quarter on a
Shane Sears 3 yard run. The PAT pass failed. The score stood at 26
to 18 when the Jets mounted their final scoring drive of the night.
After gaining great field position the Jets were able to score on a
30 yard pass play from Nieveen to Jake Saathoff. Once again though,
The PAT pass failed. The Jets were able to gain possession with
just over a minute left but their drive was derailed with a
Longhorn interception with just under 50 seconds left.
The Jet season ended with the Shickley 26-24 victory.
Nieveen was the leading rusher for the Jets with 104 yards on 16
carries. Also contributing to the ground attack were Devin Heusman
33 yards on 14 carries, Sears 16 yards on 6 carries, Saathoff 7
yards on 1 carry, and Lowmack 0 yards on 1 carry.
Nieveen was 11 of 26 passing for 158 yards. Saathoff was 1 of
1 for 23 yards. Contributing in the recieving column were: Saathoff
3 catches for 65 yards, Lowmack 2 catches for 59 yards, Zach Lempka
4 catches for 29 yards, Nieveen 1 catch for 23 yards, Sears 1 catch
for 6 yards, and Heusman 1 catch for 1 yard.
Leading the defensive effort for the Jets was Heusman with 4
tackles and 13 assists. Others helping the cause were Shane Benson
3 tackles, 5 assists, Saathoff 2 tackles, 9 assists, 1 quarterback
sack, 1 fumble recovery, D.J. Thiel 2 tackles, 7 assists, 1
quarterback sack, 1 fumble recovery, 1 blocked punt, Nieveen 2
tackles, 7 assists, Lempka 1 tackle, 5 assists, 1 quarterback sack,
Trevor Bessey 1 tackle, 1 assist, Lowmack 1 tackle, Wade Hunt 3
assists, Sears 3 assists, William Wirthele 1 assist, John Parrish 1
assist, and Jake Wirthele 1 assist.
" In the end our season came down to missed opportunities,
especially PAT'S. In our 4 losses, we failed to convert 12 of 14
PAT'S, including all 4 in our final loss to Shickley. It is really
tough to put a finger on what gave us so much trouble in converting
them, but the bottom line is, our opponents made the plays to keep
us out of the endzone. As we look toward the future with hope, we
would be remiss if we didn't thank our 4 outgoing seniors (Franklin
Boyer-Sears, Wade Hunt, Shane Sears, and D.J. Thiel) for all the
hard work they have put in these last 4 years. They will be greatly
missed."
Sterling ends its season with a 4-4 record.
