Prep Football: Bad start leads to ugly finish for Jays against Rockhurst

Jefferson City linebacker Gaven Strobel forces Rockhurst running back Brady McCanles to fumble during their football game in Kansas City on Friday night, Oct. 14, 2016.
Jefferson City linebacker Gaven Strobel forces Rockhurst running back Brady McCanles to fumble during their football game in Kansas City on Friday night, Oct. 14, 2016.

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - From the first snap of the Friday night's game, the Jefferson City Jays knew they were in trouble.

Quarterback Gunnar See rolled to his right and pitched the ball toward running back Rashaun Woods, but Woods never got two hands on it as it dropped to the turf for Carter Selzer to recover for Rockhurst. It was the beginning of a 49-6 rout of the Jays.

"A very basic play, drop the ball and they recover on our 11-yard line," Jays coach Ted LePage said. "At Rockhurst, you can't overcome that."

Jefferson City turned the ball over five times and punted five times. It's the third consecutive loss for the Jays, who finish the regular season 5-4.

"We're 0-0," LePage said. "On the third consecutive week we came out with a slow start. I told them tomorrow we're going to have to sit down and meet as a team and see what I can do to help them."

Following the fumble on the first play, just three runs by Brady McCanles was enough to get into the end zone as Rockhurst had a 7-0 lead 1:12 into the game.

Rockhurst made the Jays pay again on See's interception.

Chance May came down with a deflected pass at the Rockhurst 34-yard line and the Hawklets drove down the field in 10 plays, including a 10-yard completion from May to Selzer on a fourth-and-6.

Cole Beshoner capped off the drive with an over-the-shoulder catch from May at the pilon for a 25-yard score.

With 10:52 left in the first half, Rockhurst led 21-0 and that would remain the score at halftime.

The Hawklets' second touchdown came on a five-play, 46-yard drive capped off by a 19-yard connection from Derek Green to Ross Elder on a fake reverse. That made it 14-0 with 4:23 left in the first quarter.

In the second half, Rockhurst added touchdowns on an Elder reverse, a Luke Kuklenski run, and passes from Green and Luke Haake to Ryan Kruel and R.J. Pascuzzi, respectively.

The lone score for the Jays came on a 40-yard interception return by Dennis Barnes to make it 28-6 with 6:46 left in the third quarter.

The pick was Barnes' ninth of the season, which ties Reece Roedel (2008) and Jack Young (2010) for the school record for most interceptions in a season.

Defensive tackle Erick Schwarz also recovered a fumble caused by linebacker Gaven Strobel with 2:51 left in the third quarter, but the Jays lost 12 yards on the ensuing drive and had to punt down 28-6.

"I just didn't like the way we competed tonight and that starts right from the get-go tomorrow," LePage said.

Jefferson City (5-4) is seeded fourth in Class 6 District 3, and will host Blue Springs South (4-5) at 7 p.m. next Friday.

The Jaguars are the defending Class 6 state champions. They defeated the Jays 48-21 in last year's district semifinals in Blue Springs.