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Part II : A Look Back at 2019 John Jay Football - vs Panas and Beacon

Look for Photo Slideshow link at end of Article

By Rich MonettiPublished 4 years ago 4 min read
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John Jay 49 Panas 17

Coming into Friday night’s game at Walter Panas, John Jay has enjoyed three blowouts. The offense explodes in all directions, and the defense stands down everything in their way. But football is a three dimensional game, and Head Coach Jimmy Clark geared his lesson plan as such this week. “We put emphasis on special teams,” said Clark, and the kicking game responded with three touchdowns in tallying a 49-17 rout.

The coming out party did take a back seat to the defense on the opening sequence, though. Jon Connelly smothered a fumble on second play from scrimmage and cued up Luke Mercer and Max Miraglia for a 25 yard scoring play at 11:07 of the first.

Another quick defensive stop following, and Miraglia put the game plan in motion. He broke the line, got the block and ran it in.

A play later, Panas was kicking themselves again. The kickoff screamed off the upback and Joseph McCormick picked it out of the air. He returned to the Panas ten, and Mercer was soon running untouched into the end zone.

But Panas did have some fight. Quarterback Mark Perez hit Robert Ennis on a cut across the middle, and the Indians were left chasing on a 58 yard touchdown play.

Undeterred, John Jay answered back with an 81 touchdown run by Miraglia. But holding nullified the play, and Panas had their first stop.

Will Stein made sure the momentum swung back with a big sack, and his quarterback made the most it the other way. On the changeover, Mercer broke through the line and took the daylight 82 yards for a 28-7 lead with 10:55 left in the half.

Panas didn’t seem to have an answer either. But an unsportsman like conduct on third and 15 kept the drive alive, and James Duren took advantage with a 40 yard run to the ten.

Still, the scamper appeared to be for naught when Grady Halaifonua stepped in for an interception. But the Indians were flagged for roughing the passer and another misstep did not go unnoticed. “Everything is a learning experience, but we have to maintain discipline,” Clark asserted.

Panas was still forced to settle for a 22 yard Michael Ronga field goal with eight minutes remaining. But Miraglia was determined to not let the momentum shift any further. “I was hoping they didn’t onside kick, because I really wanted the ball,” he said.

Miraglia got his wish and took the kickoff 80 yards for a 35-10 lead. Miraglia’s third TD came on another blocked punt in the third, and John Jay could look ahead to Lakeland. “Every game is the biggest game of the year,” concluded Clark. “That’s our approach.”

Click for Photo Slidehshow : https://rmonetti.blogspot.com/2019/12/john-jay-football-slideshow-vs-beacon.html

John Jay 48 Beacon 6

On Saturday Night October 12, John Jay celebrated homecoming with a 48-6 pounding of the Beacon Bulldogs, and Coach Jimmy Clark made sure his boys looked the part in breaking out new black uniforms. He even stepped back from the X’s and O’s in crediting the performance to the sleek look. “You look good, you feel good, you play good,” Clark said tongue and cheek. But the head coach made sure to acknowledge that regardless of the shiny black glare, a different cast of characters filled out the uniforms just the same before a packed crowd.

Clark began with Ian Gallagher’s four receptions, for 86 yards and 2 touchdowns. “Ian’s made some big plays this year, but hasn’t gotten into the end zone,” said Clark.

Gallagher went over the middle both times and stood tall on the Luke Mercer darts. The first TD came after a 45 yard screen to Chris DiChiara on John Jay’s first play from scrimmage, and the second grab had Gallagher pulling in a one handed 36 yard reception for a 20-0 lead at 1:31 of the first.

In the interim, Gallagher also got an assist when Mercer’s pass bounced off the senior’s hand, and Bobby Chang pulled the popup in for a 13-0 lead Of course, Gallagher gets the gravity of going over the middle. “It’s a little scary and you have to know where the safety is, but I have 100% confidence that Luke will put the ball where it needs to go,” Gallagher boasted.

The two way player didn’t wait for his next chance on offense to get his hands on the ball either. Gallagher pulled in Jason Komisar’s sideline pass on first down, and following the change of possession, Nick Giardina was on the receiving end of Mercer’s fourth TD pass.

The 27-0 first quarter lead gave Mercer’s 206 passing yardage a very early exit, and Giardina made the most of the switch by engineering three more long drives. On the ground and through the air, the backup accumulated 46 yards passing and 41 yards rushing with two touchdown runs. “Nick was hurt for three games,” Clark said. “But he’s back now, has played several different roles and showed that he can run the offense.”

The depth should certainly help now that the Indians have secured the Class A number one seed and better competition on the way won’t have John Jay doing anything different. “We can only play who’s on the schedule. We don’t look ahead and take it one game at a time,” Clark concluded.

Click for Photo Slideshow : https://rmonetti.blogspot.com/2019/12/john-jay-football-slideshow-vs-beacon.html

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Rich Monetti

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