RIPON - The Brodhead-Juda football team has found a way on defense to get off the field on third and fourth down most of the season.
However, the Cardinals couldn't come up with key stops Saturday and the Cardinals' state championship hopes were dashed after a 42-21 loss to Wrightstown in the WIAA Division 4 state semifinals. Wrightstown set the tone early on when Jordan Johnson tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Do-McKenzie on fourth-and-8. Johnson had three touchdowns to propel the Tigers to the Division 4 state championship game, where they will take on Somerset at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Do-McKenzie then intercepted a David Earleywine pass and returned it to the Cardinals' 29-yard line. The Tigers came up big on third-and-long again, when Johnson fired an 8-yard touchdown strike to Jon Brager to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Tigers converted 7 of 14 third downs and were 3 of 5 on fourth downs, and they scored four of their six touchdowns on third and fourth down.
"The first and second drives, they didn't have very far to go," Brodhead-Juda senior linebacker Jesse DeLorme said. "I don't know what it was. We just couldn't get off the field.
"It hurts because we wanted to get back to state. It hurts so bad because we wanted it so much. I will never forget what this team did."
Brodhead-Juda coach Jim Matthys said the Tigers' success on third and fourth down wasn't all due to defensive breakdowns.
"It's not so much that we were making mistakes, it was their offensive line and how their backs were running hard," Matthys said.
With the Cardinals facing a critical fourth-and two play in the second quarter, Earleywine connected with senior Joey Jordan on a 4-yard pass. The fourth down conversion kept the drive alive and led to senior Trenton Jordan's 49-yard touchdown run that cut the Tigers' lead to 14-7.
Some may have considered going for the fourth down play on their side of the field a gamble, but Matthys was looking for a spark from his offense.
"We needed to get some points, get an answer and we did," Matthys said. "It gave us some momentum back on our side."
Wrightstown answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was centered around a Jackson Fox 52-yard run and culminated in a Fox 1-yard touchdown plunge to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead about midway through the second quarter. The Tigers had three plays of 25 yards or more. Fox finished with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
"I think we did a pretty good job defensively against Fox," Matthys said. "We just didn't have the ball much in the second half."
Wrightstown extended its lead to 21 points after Johnson scored on a 55-yard run early in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 28-7 lead. And with Wrightstown facing a fourth-and one late in the third quarter, Johnson hooked up with Tanner Opichka on a 12-yard TD pass to give the Tigers a 35-7 lead.
Earleywine, who completed 12 of 21 passes for 145 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, credited the Tigers' execution.
"Wrightstown is a really good team," Earleywine said. "They run about 15 plays, but they are good at what they do. We didn't get off to a great start when I threw that pick. They came out and made most of the most of their opportunities."
The Cardinals battled back with a 10-play, 70-yard drive in the fourth quarter that was capped off by Earleywine's 18-yard TD pass on a screen to DeLorme. Brodhead-Juda senior Jaron Harding opened the drive with a 17-yard run. With the Cardinals facing a fourth-and two from their own 45-yard line, Earleywine lofted a 15-yard pass hauled in by senior Levi Frost. Frost ultimately caught two passes for 55 yards.
Earleywine also had a 3-yard run on fourth-and-one from the Tigers' 21-yard line to sustain the drive, and he tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Joey Jordan in the fourth quarter.
Trenton Jordan, who rushed for 67 yards on three carries and one touchdown, admitted how difficult it was to get so close to the state championship and come up short.
"It hurts a lot," Jordan said. "I will always remember with my teammates being so close and not getting what we truly wanted."
However, the Cardinals couldn't come up with key stops Saturday and the Cardinals' state championship hopes were dashed after a 42-21 loss to Wrightstown in the WIAA Division 4 state semifinals. Wrightstown set the tone early on when Jordan Johnson tossed a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Do-McKenzie on fourth-and-8. Johnson had three touchdowns to propel the Tigers to the Division 4 state championship game, where they will take on Somerset at 7 p.m. Thursday.
Do-McKenzie then intercepted a David Earleywine pass and returned it to the Cardinals' 29-yard line. The Tigers came up big on third-and-long again, when Johnson fired an 8-yard touchdown strike to Jon Brager to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead with 3 minutes, 31 seconds left in the first quarter.
The Tigers converted 7 of 14 third downs and were 3 of 5 on fourth downs, and they scored four of their six touchdowns on third and fourth down.
"The first and second drives, they didn't have very far to go," Brodhead-Juda senior linebacker Jesse DeLorme said. "I don't know what it was. We just couldn't get off the field.
"It hurts because we wanted to get back to state. It hurts so bad because we wanted it so much. I will never forget what this team did."
Brodhead-Juda coach Jim Matthys said the Tigers' success on third and fourth down wasn't all due to defensive breakdowns.
"It's not so much that we were making mistakes, it was their offensive line and how their backs were running hard," Matthys said.
With the Cardinals facing a critical fourth-and two play in the second quarter, Earleywine connected with senior Joey Jordan on a 4-yard pass. The fourth down conversion kept the drive alive and led to senior Trenton Jordan's 49-yard touchdown run that cut the Tigers' lead to 14-7.
Some may have considered going for the fourth down play on their side of the field a gamble, but Matthys was looking for a spark from his offense.
"We needed to get some points, get an answer and we did," Matthys said. "It gave us some momentum back on our side."
Wrightstown answered with a nine-play, 75-yard drive that was centered around a Jackson Fox 52-yard run and culminated in a Fox 1-yard touchdown plunge to give the Tigers a 21-7 lead about midway through the second quarter. The Tigers had three plays of 25 yards or more. Fox finished with 111 rushing yards and two touchdowns.
"I think we did a pretty good job defensively against Fox," Matthys said. "We just didn't have the ball much in the second half."
Wrightstown extended its lead to 21 points after Johnson scored on a 55-yard run early in the third quarter to give the Tigers a 28-7 lead. And with Wrightstown facing a fourth-and one late in the third quarter, Johnson hooked up with Tanner Opichka on a 12-yard TD pass to give the Tigers a 35-7 lead.
Earleywine, who completed 12 of 21 passes for 145 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions, credited the Tigers' execution.
"Wrightstown is a really good team," Earleywine said. "They run about 15 plays, but they are good at what they do. We didn't get off to a great start when I threw that pick. They came out and made most of the most of their opportunities."
The Cardinals battled back with a 10-play, 70-yard drive in the fourth quarter that was capped off by Earleywine's 18-yard TD pass on a screen to DeLorme. Brodhead-Juda senior Jaron Harding opened the drive with a 17-yard run. With the Cardinals facing a fourth-and two from their own 45-yard line, Earleywine lofted a 15-yard pass hauled in by senior Levi Frost. Frost ultimately caught two passes for 55 yards.
Earleywine also had a 3-yard run on fourth-and-one from the Tigers' 21-yard line to sustain the drive, and he tossed a 9-yard TD pass to Joey Jordan in the fourth quarter.
Trenton Jordan, who rushed for 67 yards on three carries and one touchdown, admitted how difficult it was to get so close to the state championship and come up short.
"It hurts a lot," Jordan said. "I will always remember with my teammates being so close and not getting what we truly wanted."
