Football Overcomes 12-Point Deficit, Beats Central (BR) 35-19

Posted September 17, 2018 / Last updated September 21, 2018

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In a 35-minute stretch Jesuit scored 35 unanswered points after trailing to Central (BR), 12-0, to start the second quarter. A last-minute Wildcat touchdown made the result a 35-19 Blue Jay victory. Jesuit (2-1) captured its first road win with three rushing and two passing touchdowns; but a clutch special teams play was, without question, the momentum-shifting turning point of Friday night’s game at a packed Wildcat Stadium.

It was senior defensive captain Matthew Sauviac who recovered the fumble on a muffed punt in the fourth quarter. The Blue Jays were leading 21-12 as the Wildcats were back in position to make it a one-possession game. Central (0-3) would have started the drive at midfield, but instead the Blue Jays took over and quickly scored on a 10-yard Brayton Whittington run. Whittington ran in for his second touchdown on the final Blue Jay possession.

The two best pass plays of the game came on the Jays’ first and third scores of the first half. Early in the second quarter, quarterback Robert McMahon rolled right, fooling the defense into thinking the play was designed to that direction. With what seemed like 21 players on one half of the field, McMahon threw it back to a wide-open Rader Jackson on the opposite field. Jackson caught the ball, ran 15 yards, and dove while reaching the ball over the pylon. The third and final touchdown of the half, a 39-yard pass from McMahon, saw the best catch of the game made by senior receiver Noah Varnado in triple coverage!

Through the Lens…

GAME-CHANGER: Senior Matthew Sauviac (#48) recovers a fumble on a muffed punt. The clutch special teams play led to Jesuit’s first 4th-quarter touchdown and improved the lead to 28-12.

View the Photo Gallery of the Jesuit-Central Football Game

By the Numbers…

Jesuit: 306 yards of total offense (93 passing, 213 rushing)
Central (BR): 330
 yards of total offense (120 passing, 210 rushing)

Passing: Robert McMahon, 9-10, 93 YDS, 2 TD.
Rushing: Brayton Whittington, 18 CAR, 81 YDS, 2 TD; Robert McMahon, 15 CAR, 101 YDS, 1 TD; Rader Jackson, 2-24; Will Moran, 1-8
Receiving: Noah Varnado, 2 REC, 43 YDS, TD; Rader Jackson, 1-17, TD; Luke Laforge, 4-29, Brendan Berggren, 2-4

Scoring Summary
FIRST QUARTER JHS Central
TD
Parker Evans 56-yard pass from Kenerson
Extra Point No Good
0 6
TD
Isaiah Rankins 2-yard run
2-Pt Conversion No Good
0 12
SECOND QUARTER    
TD
6:40
Rader Jackson 17-yard pass from Robert McMahon
Scheurich Extra Point Good
7 12
TD
2:51
R. McMahon 41-yard run
Scheurich Extra Point Good
14 12
TD
0:59
Noah Varnado 39-yard pass from Robert McMahon
Scheurich Extra Point Good
21 12
THIRD QUARTER – NO SCORING 21 12
FOURTH QUARTER    
TD
Brayton Whittington 10-yard run
Scheurich Extra Point Good
28 12
TD
Brayton Whittington 20-yard run
Scheurich Extra Point Good
35 12
TD
1:05
Le’Derrick Thomas 26-yard pass from Kenerson
35 19

In Their Words…

“We knew that their quarterback was a special player who could pop from everywhere,” head coach Mark Songy said when asked about the run defense. “We’re either going to stop the pass or stop the run, and we were good on the back end when he chose to tuck the ball and run.”

Central’s head coach Sid Edwards, who coached Jesuit the year after Hurricane Katrina, said of the Blue Jays, “They’re a disciplined football team. I don’t think they had any panic in them at all.”

On the Horizon…

Jesuit takes on the St. Augustine Purple Knights (3-0) on Saturday night at Tad Gormley Stadium for its week-4 game. The Knights scored a game-winning touchdown to beat Kennedy, 43-36, at Tad Gormley on Friday, Sept. 14. The Jesuit-St. Aug game kicks off at 7:00 p.m. 

Read More…

TheAdvocate.com | Jesuit storms back to beat Central after spotting 12-0 lead in first quarter