SELINSGROVE – In the memorable Super Bowl LI in which the New England Patriots overcame a 28-3 deficit late in the third quarter to defeat the Atlanta Falcons, a big reason for their historical comeback was that they ran more than twice as many plays as their opponents, 93 to just 46 for the Falcons. The 93 was considered remarkable, as few team, regardless of which level they play on, even approach that on a usual basis.
Jersey Shore not only approached but surpassed that number on Saturday night against Lewisburg. The only difference between them and the Patriots in that 2017 Super Bowl, is that the Bulldogs’ defense played much better.
Jersey Shore’s hurry-up offense producing an astounding 97 offensive plays and 528 yards of offense as the Bulldogs topped Lewisburg 47-8 to improve to 4-0.
Perhaps just as significant as the Bulldogs’ eye-popping offensive numbers, was that Jersey Shore almost completely shut down Lewisburg defensively, holding the Green Dragons to -20 rushing yards and just 120 yards of offense, of which 68 came on a single play, which was the Green Dragons’ lone touchdown of the game.
Jersey Shore managed to run 51 plays to just 19 for Lewisburg in the first half of Saturday night’s game, and the Bulldogs had 254 yards to just 99 for the Green Dragons, yet only led by five points, 13-8, at the half.
That was mainly due to a pair of turnovers, a safety given up, and settling for two field goals as well as a missed field goal.
Those offensive numbers continued in the second half, and unfortunately for the Green Dragons, the Bulldogs were able to better capitalize.
“We did a good job in the first half and our guys understood what was going on,” said Lewisburg coach Eric Wicks. “We definitely got tired during the second half and it showed. Our guys fought and kept competing, but as things continued to roll, we had a few guys get hurt and some young guys out there, and it really showed.”
Of Jersey Shore’s astounding 97 plays, 71 were rushes, as the Bulldogs gouged Lewisburg’s defense repeatedly and with very little time in between plays.
The Bulldogs were forced to punt and were intercepted on their first two drives of the game before Hadyn Packer scored his first of three touchdowns on the night on the Bulldogs’ third possession to put Jersey Shore up 7-0.
Lewisburg then got its lone touchdown of the game when Wade Young found Owen Ordonez for a 68-yard touchdown reception near the end of the first quarter that made it 7-6 after the PAT was blocked.
The Bulldogs then settled for a 20-yard field goal by Breck Miller on their next drive and then Lewisburg got a safety when Brady Jordan was called for intentional grounding in the end zone on the Bulldogs’ next possession, making it 10-8.
Jordan was intercepted again on the Bulldogs’ next drive, and that was followed by another 20-yard field goal by Miller just before the half.
But from that point forward, the Bulldogs began to capitalize on their scoring chances while allowing Lewisburg very little offensively. The Green Dragons managed just 21 total yards in the second half, while Jersey Shore scored on five of its seven second half possessions, with a lost fumble and missed field goal accounting for the other two.
“We emphasized to keep playing our game for 48 minutes and not to flinch,” said Jersey Shore coach Tom Gravish. “Things weren’t going the greatest but we kept playing. I think Coach Wicks is doing a great job at Lewisburg. We were concerned about them because they’ve got a pair of Division I commits out there and they’re good. We challenged our guys to be ready because Lewisburg is for real and we kept with it.”
Packer, who finished with 117 yards on 15 carries, scored his second touchdown on a three-yard run early in the third quarter after Jersey Shore took over on an interception by Brady Jordan that gave them the ball at the Lewisburg 18. After Elijah Jordan had received most of the carries in the first half – 18 in total – it was Packer that wore down the Lewisburg defense with a bulldozing running style, as he picked up 98 of his yards and his last two touchdowns in the second half.
Though Elijah Jordan did most of his work in the first half, he scored both of his touchdowns in the second, as he scored on Jersey Shore’s next two drives after Packer’s initial second-half touchdown, completing the drives with two short runs to cap 64 and 69-yard drives, respectively.
Packer got his third rushing touchdown midway through the fourth quarter, while Tate Sechrist found the end zone late in the fourth.
Jersey Shore 47, Lewisburg 8
Jersey Shore (4-0) 7 6 20 14 – 47
Lewisburg (0-3) 6 2 0 0 – 8
First-quarter
2:11 – (JS) Hadyn Packer 2-yard run (Miller kick), 13-56, 3:46
1:09 – (L) Owen Ordonez 68-yard pass from Wade Young (kick blocked), 2-66, 1:02
Second-quarter
8:01 – (JS) Breck Miller 20-yard field goal, 15-61, 5:08
5:50 – (L) TEAM Safety (intentional grounding penalty called in end zone)
:02 – (JS) Breck Miller 20-yard field goal, 6-47, :58
Third-quarter
9:20 – (JS) Hadyn Packer 3-yard run (run failed), 3-18, :45
4:29 – (JS) Elijah Jordan 2-yard run (Miller kick), 11-64, 3:26
1:49 – (JS) Elijah Jordan 4-yard run (Miller kick), 9-69, 1:55
Fourth-quarter
6:27 – (JS) Hadyn Packer 4-yard run (Miller kick), 2-24, :34
1:29 – (JS) Tate Sechrist 7-yard run (Miller kick), 11-44, 4:38
Statistics
JS L
First downs 33 4
Rushes-net yards 71-351 20-(-20)
Passing yardage 177 140
Passing 12-26-0-2 8-21-1-3
Fumbles-lost 2-1 2-1
Penalties-yards 10-63 8-77
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING — Jersey Shore: Elijah Jordan (23-114-2), Hadyn Packer (15-117-3), Brady Jordan (10-38), Gabe Andrus (8-21), Tate Sechrist (7-38-1), Kooper Peacock (4-9), Dathan Tyson (2-(-2)), Karter Peacock (1-9), Cayden Hess (1-7); Lewisburg: Ethan Dominick (9-3), Wade Young (6-(-22)), Jeremiah Davis (3-(-2)), Cameron Michaels (2-1)
PASSING — Jersey Shore: Brady Jordan (12-26-177-0-2); Lewisburg: Wade Young (8-21-140-1-3)
RECEIVING — Jersey Shore: Connor Griffin (4-55), Cayden Hess (3-45), Kooper Peacock (3-31), Nicholas Williams (2-46); Lewisburg: Cameron Michaels (3-63), Owen Ordonez (2-72-1), Charles Landis (2-3), Devin Bodden (1-2)
