Indians ground Rockets, 40-6
Trending
MIFFLINTOWN--After back-to-back overtime victories the Juniata Indians decided to not leave Friday night's game in doubt for long, as the Indians dominated James Buchanan on Senior Night, in a 40-6 win in their home opener.
Juniata coach Kurt Condo was thankful his team was able to put the game away in four quarters.
"The 'Cardiac Kids' gave me a break this week," Condo joked. "I'm just happy for the seniors to have this opportunity to come out here and play and finally be at our home and in front of our fans."
With starting quarterback Jacob Condo sidelined, the Indians turned to their rushing attack to carry the offense--and it did just that.
Juniata combined to rush for 394 yards, led by senior Caleb Seeger and junior Yaniel Ortiz who compiled 123 and 98 yards, respectively.
"That was the plan," Condo said about his team's rushing attack. "The boys executed really well and I'm happy for them."
It was Ortiz who showcased his speed early on, scoring three touchdowns in the first quarter. The junior fired off a 57-yard score on the Indians' third play of the game.
After the Indians fumbled the ball and gave possession back to the James Buchanan, Rockets quarterback Caden Stoner threw a screen pass over the head of Grant Ellis. Since the pass went backwards, it was considered a lateral and a fumble. Ortiz was aware of this, scooping up the loose ball and taking it 47 yards to the endzone for the touchdown.
Just to top things off, Ortiz ended the first quarter with a 40-yard run to give the Indians a commanding 20-0 lead.
"The effort was there," Condo said. "The boys knew the adversity that they were facing all week in practice. We told them that they would have to come out here and give effort, and that's what happened."
With the exciting play of Ortiz and the thrilling overtime wins, one of the unsung heroes in Juniata's success has been its defense. In their wins, the Indians give up just 16.5 points per game, allowing their offense to work at its own pace.
"We tweaked the defense this year and each week it seems like its been getting a little more stout," Condo said. "I think we're covering the zone passes as well as I can remember. The kids are really starting to pick it up and they're getting confidence in what they're doing."
Before the half, Seeger piled on the scoring with an 82-yard touchdown sprint--by far the longest play of the game for either side.
With a 26-0 lead, the Indians settled in and focused on stopping the Rockets offense and running out the clock. James Buchanan had three drives in the third quarter and all of which resulted in a three-and-out.
Wanting to get in on the scoring, Juniata quarterback Cameron Sweigart dropped back and delivered a great pass to receiver Makih Hunt who made the catch and took it 43 yards to the endzone.
With the game in hand, Condo had his second-team defense get some reps against the Rockets starting offense. The Indians held up, but surrendered a last minute touchdown as Jacob Frey beat the Juniata secondary and quarterback Caden Stoner hit him with a solid pass, getting James Buchanan on the board.
In the dwindling seconds, the second-string offense looked to run out the clock, but Cameron Sweigart busted through the Rockets defense on his way to a 40-yard score.
Entering a new division before the season, Condo still isn't quite sure how his team stacks up against opponents. This season, the Indians have only played against one team that they had faced in previous seasons, and that was Halifax. However, with a 4-1 record, the Indians are at the top of the Midd-Penn Liberty division.
"We've only played one team from the Tri-Valley League and we've been piecing together a schedule," Condo said. "I really nave nothing to gauge off of where we're at right now because… we've played three teams in the past three weeks that we're not familiar with. If we were playing Newport and Line Mountain and all those teams, we'd have a better idea of where we're at right now."
With the Indians plugging in players all over the field, getting a blow out win added some relief to a team that was playing without some of its key contributors.
"Obviously, overcoming the adversity of missing some (players) tonight, the boys played really well overall," Condo said. "It gives us a lot to build off of for next week."
With the win, Juniata will advance to the District 6 Class 4A championship. Their opponent and the location of the game is to be determined. Bellefonte held the No. 2 seed in District 6 heading into Friday night.
Juniata 40, James Buchanan 6
SCORE BY QUARTERS
James Buchanan 0 0 0 6--6
Juniata 20 6 6 8--40
First Quarter
J--Yaniel Ortiz 57 run (2-pt failed), 10:42.
J--Ortiz 47-yard fumble return(Jace White run), 4:26.
J--Ortiz 9 run, (2-pt failed), 0:43.
Second Quarter
J--Caleb Seeger 82 run (2-pt failed), 3:05.
Third Quarter
J--Makih Hunt 43 pass from Cameron Sweigart, (2-pt failed), 7:05.
Fourth Quarter
JB--Jacob Frey 20 pass from Caden Stoner (Bryce Reed kick), 3:44.
J--Jordan Dickinson 40 run (Dickinson from Aaron Kanagy), 0:15.
TEAM STATISTICS
Vis Home
First downs 10 18
Total yards 178 498
Rushes-yards 29-33 43-394
Yards passing 145 104
Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 10-18-3 5-8-0
Punts-avg. 6-33.5 2-38.5
Fumbles-lost 3-1 2-1
Penalties-yards 3-28 6-50
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING: JB--Logan Miller 11-51, Caden Stoner 10-(-3), Wesley Gordon 4-(-6), TEAM 2-(-5), Grant Ellis 1-(-4), Nathan Brake 1-0; J--Yaniel Ortiz 10-98 2 TD, Caleb Seeger 8-123 TD, Jace White 6-79, Jordan Dickinson 3-55 TD, Emmanuel O'Donell 3-33, Zachary Harr 3-5, Waylon Ehrenzeller 3-1, Cameron Sweigart 2-22, Kaden Schlegel 2-11, TEAM 2-(-27), Jaric Trout 1-(-5).
PASSING: JB--Caden Stoner 10-17-2 145 TD, Spencer Line 0-1-1 0.; J--Cameron Sweigart 5-8 104 TD.
RECEIVING: JB--Ellis 4-75, Trenton Kuhns 3-25, Mason Line 2-37 TD, Wesley Gordon 1-14; J-- Seeger 3-62, Hunt 1-43 TD, Ortiz 1-(-1).