Yellows being thrown for unsportsmanlike conduct and personal fouls marred both sides throughout the game. But in the end, that’s not what it came down to.
Athens just threw the ball more efficiently, and Jersey Shore couldn’t prevent it from happening.
The Wildcats’ Shane Raupers connected with wide receiver Jarred Gambrell twice, and Athens went on to win 25-15 Friday at Thompson Street Stadium.
Raupers, who was injured last week against Danville, fought through his injury by completing 14-of-36 passes for 227 yards. His main target, Gambrell, ended the night with 121 yards receiving and two scores – both of which came in the first half.
“Shane is hurting,” Athens head coach Young said. “We didn’t play him on defense at all, and he’s not going to kick the ball for a few weeks. He’s a gutsy kid, and I believe this was his 40th varsity start, which you don’t see too often. When it does happen, it happens for a reason.
“We are kind of licking our wounds after last week, and I don’t think we quite showed up to play. I think once we started playing defense, things leveled out a bit. It was an ugly ballgame. But, anytime you can win on the road is a good win. That is what we were looking for – to get back in the ‘W’ column.”
Things started off bright for Jersey Shore (1-3), which marched down the field on its opening drive. The Bulldogs capped a four-play, 62-yard drive with a 38-yard run by Jake Potter for a quick, 6-0 lead.
After that, the scores didn’t come near as often for Shore.
A field goal by Eli Skinner in the second knotted the game at 6, and the orange and black didn’t score again until the beginning of the fourth quarter on a 1-yard quarterback keeper by Taylor English.
“When we practiced all week, we practiced for the things that we thought they would do, even with (Raupers) in there,” Eck said. “I should have probably anticipated that. We needed to step up, and our offensive line did that in the first series. They just took it to them; then I don’t know what happened.
“I just told the team, I was embarassed the way we lost our composure. We just gave them all those extra yards. That’s not the way I play football.”
The Wildcats (3-1) fired back after Shore’s score in the first as Raupers connected with Gambrell for a 30-yard TD strike. Athens went three-and-out on its next drive, giving Shore the ball which eventually led to the Bulldogs 32-yard field goal.
Then, the Northern Tier school really opened things up.
Athens drove 80 yards down the field – which included a 40-yard reception by Garrett Morgan to put the Wildcats at the Shore 37. Raupers got his team up to the 20-yard line, and again found Gambrell in the end zone.
The Wildcats got the ball back quickly for their next two series, as two Shore fumbles gave Athens more opportunities. On the drive after Shore’s first turnover, Raupers threw an interception to Jake Rogers, but it came to no avail as the Bulldogs turned it over again, which led a Morgan 10-yard scamper for paydirt.
There was some hope for Shore, which started off the fourth quarter with a touchdown. After getting to its own 45-yard line, Shore punted the ball away but Athens fumbled, giving the ball back to the Bulldogs. Two penalities pushed Shore to the Wildcats’ 12-yard line, and English ran it in for paydirt.
The Shore QB was limited through the air, however, as he completed 11-of-22 passes for only 62 yards.
“We did a nice job of that,” Young said of his teamás pass protection. “We talked about that all week, just taking care of the little things. We took care of some little things, but it was a real sloppy ball game. As a coach, you don’t want to see that kind of a ballgame. There were too many flags, but a win on a long road trip is a good win.”
“Now we go and play five league games. We have to take each one at a time. We just wanted to get back in the ‘W’ column, and now we can see what happens in our league.”
Next week, the Bulldogs will be tested on the road when they travel to Montoursville, which is a PHAC Divison I contest. The Warriors easily defeated Milton 47-7 last night.
ATHENS 25, JERSEY SHORE 15
A 6 12 7 0 – 25
J 6 3 0 6 – 15
First Quarter
JS – Jake Potter 38 run (kick failed), 10:00
A – Jarred Gambrell 30 pass from Shane Raupers (kick failed), 7:25
Second Quarter
JS – Eli Skinner 31 field goal, 10:40
A – Gambrell 20 pass from Raupers (pass failed), 7:20
A – Garrett Morgan 2 run (pass failed), 3:10
Third Quarter
A – Josiah Lesser 8 run (Cody May kick), 8:29
Fourth Quarter
JS – Taylor English 1 run (pass failed), 11:56
TEAM STATISTICS
A JS
First Downs 16 11
Rushes-Yards 29-121 29-130
Yards Passing 227 62
Total Offense 348 192
C.-A.-T 14-36-1 11-22-1
Fumbles-Lost 1-2 2-2
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Rushing: A, Garrett Morgan 18-76; Josiah Lesser 6-20; Shane Raupers 5-25. J, Jake Potter 16-115; Taylor English 5-(-11); Kasey Kemmerer 2-5; Logan Mariano 6-21.
Passing: A, Raupers 14-36-227-2-1. J, English 11-22-62-0-1.
Receiving: Gambrell 7-121; Josh Clark 4-48; Morgan 2-48; Dan Riley 1-10. JS, Eli Skinner 4-26; Jake Potter 1-(-6); Ian Berry 2-16; Logan Welshans 3-20; Ian Sander 1-6.
Interceptions: A, Dan Riley. J, Jake Rogers.
