Eagles Shock Smithfield, 20-14
Jamestown’s football team celebrates one of its biggest victories of the season Friday, a 20-14 upset at Smithfield.
On Friday night, they headed to Smithfield. But for a few moments late in the teams' gridiron battle, the Jamestown football team couldn't help but think about York.
Specifically, their minds went back to Sept. 26, when a missed extra point cost the Eagles a 35-34 overtime loss to the Falcons.
A tough Eagle defense had kept Smithfield - playing for its first Bay Rivers District title in 16 years - off the scoreboard since just before halftime, and Scott Burkett had just barged through the Packer defense for a six-yard touchdown that put Jamestown, which at 3-4 was playing only for pride, ahead 20-14 with 5:26 to play. When Max Zaun kicked the extra point, it appeared that Smithfield would need a two-point conversion to win.
Then Jamestown saw a penalty flag, which knocked them back 10 yards and forced another kick. Smithfield broke through to block it, leaving themselves just six points behind, with plenty of time to chew up the clock and break Jamestown's collective heart once again.
Things had started out so well for the Eagles; Evan Moog carried five times for 19 yards on the opening drive, then caught a 24-yard pass from Myles Antonini at the one-yard line.
Antonini scored on the next play, and the Jamestown defense forced a quick punt. Antonini threw another 24-yarder to Moog to get into Smithfield territory, then hit Rory Dillion at the 16.
Moog made it to the five, and then to the one. But Antonini was intercepted in the endzone on the next play, and the Packers took possession and the momentum. With 10 minutes left in the first half, James Wrenn hit a streaking Saquan Moody down the right sideline for a 63-yard touchdown.
The Smithfield defense forced a three-and-out, and Montrell Jordan, who passed the 1000-yard seasonal mark last week against Grafton, ran 18 yards to the Eagle 44. Kyle Springfield hit Jaquon Goodman at the 30 and DaSean Artis at the 21, then ran to the eight. Two plays later, Lamonte Baldwin caught a touchdown pass, putting the Packers ahead, 14-7. Smithfield had a chance to blow things wide open when Artis recovered a squibbed kickoff at the Eagle 32, but Ben Perry broke through to sack Springfield to end the half.
"We told our guys all week that the only ones who thought they could win this game are the guys on the team," said Jamestown coach Ryan Turnage. "We were a little worried about (Smithfield's) speed, but the muddy field kind of negated that."
Smithfield drove to the Eagle 42 early in the third quarter, but Ron Coberly picked Wrenn off and ran to the 45. Antonini threw to Dillion at the Smithfield 40, and he and Moog carried to the 28. With just under six minutes left in the quarter, Moog took a handoff, charged through the right side of the line, and rolled all the way to pay dirt.
"The team mindset was that we had nothing to lose," said Moog. "If we executed right, then everything would fall into play. I was trying to stay on my feet, not trying to cut on this muddy field. I ran straight for daylight."
Neither team threatened for the remainder of the quarter, and Johnson returned a Jamestown punt to the Smithfield 30 with nine minutes left. Two plays later, Charis Chillers fell on a Packer fumble, giving Jamestown possession at the 29.
Moog carried three times to the 19, and he and Burkett got to the six. Then a surprised Burkett took a handoff, charged through the line, and fell into the endzone and the lead.
"I was nervous," he admitted. "That's probably my fourth carry all year, and my first touchdown. I was shocked I was getting the ball, but I wasn't going to fumble that thing. My blockers blocked so good, I didn't get touched until I got to the endzone."
Still, the blocked extra point left the onus on the Jamestown defense, and Johnson sent another scare through them when he bolted 24 yards to the Eagle 31. Chillers tackled Moody for a four-yard loss, and a Springfield pass fell incomplete. Then Antonini led a cavalcade of tacklers through the line at Johnson, who could only manage a yard. With three minutes left, Smithfield had a fourth-and-13 at the Eagle 34.
Springfield faded back, and tacklers rushed at him from both ends. He lobbed a pass toward Goodman on the left side, but it went high, giving a few defenders time to get over. The pass fell into Dillion's hands, and he carried it back to the Jamestown 40.
"I saw it going up there, and I knew I had a pretty good shot," Dillion said. "I was either going to knock it down or take it myself."
Moog caught the Packer defense off guard with a 44-yard run to the 26, but a holding penalty knocked Jamestown back to the 36 as the clock ticked past two minutes. As Smithfield used up its last two timeouts, Moog carried for 11 yards on three plays, giving the Packers back the ball at their own 25 with 44 seconds left.
Back in at quarterback, Wrenn faded back on first down, but Sam Preas ambushed him at the 16 with 19 seconds to go. Wrenn fired toward Antonio Bailey on second down, but Antonini and Coberly broke it up.
With three seconds on the clock, Wrenn launched a long pass down the sideline, but another group of Jamestown defenders knocked it to the turf, and the Eagles had a victory.
"The responsibility of the team was to just keep the clock running," said Moog, whose game-leading 185 rushing yards pushed him past the 1,200 mark for the season (Johnson, who ended with 92, passed 1,100). "The ball was coming to me, but the line was pushing them forward, and I trusted my line."
The Packers' loss, coupled with Bruton's 30-24 edging of York Friday, leaves Smithfield and Bruton tied at the top of the district at 7-2 overall, 6-2 in the district. Tabb, which whomped Warhill 62-21 on Friday, stands at 6-3 overall, 6-2 in the district.
On Thursday, Bruton visits Tabb. Should the Tigers win, both teams will be at 7-3 overall. If Bruton wins, they'll move to 8-2, and go ahead of Smithfield in the district, for at least a day.
On Friday, Smithfield visits Poquoson. Should the Packers win and Bruton loses to Tabb, Smithfield will take the district. If Smithfield loses and Bruton wins, the Panthers get the district. If Tabb wins and Smithfield loses, the three teams will be left in a 7-3 knot, with the tiebreaker undetermined.
