BLUE SPRINGS, Mo. - Defense kept the Jefferson City Jays in it as long as it could, but by the time the offense got going, the deficit to Blue Springs was too much to overcome.
The Jays failed to convert two first-half fumbles into points while the Wildcats built a 22-0 lead by halftime on their way to a 46-23 win Friday night against Jefferson City in the first round of Class 6 District 3 play.
"They have three D-linemen that are really good and we had a hard time blocking them," Jefferson City coach Ted LePage said. "Some of the things that we were working on early, we got late. We tried some things we thought were there. Unfortunately, they were able to make a better play than us."
The first fumble, which was recovered by Jays defensive lineman Brandon Backues, set the Jays up at their own 31-yard line.
After two runs of no gain for quarterback Devin Roberson and an incomplete pass caused by pressure up the middle, Jefferson City was forced to punt.
But the Wildcats gave it right back on the first play of the ensuing drive as K.D. Rosser recovered a fumble at the Blue Springs 26. Again, no points for the Jays.
A penalty made it first-and-25 and the Jays ended up turning it over on downs early in the second quarter.
Neither team crossed the 50 again until Blue Springs quarterback Chase Donohoe connected with Tre Wheaton for a 46-yard gain on the final drive of the first half.
Three plays later, Donohoe found Caleb Marquez in the middle of the field for a 14-yard touchdown. The PAT made it 22-0 Wildcats with just 0:31.1 on the clock.
Jefferson City moved the ball more effectively right away in the second half, going 80 yards in seven plays for a score.
Christian White caught a deep pass from Roberson for a 60-yard gain on the first play of the half.
On fourth-and-goal, Davion Evans caught a 3-yard touchdown pass from Roberson. Roberson threw a fade to Evans for the 2-point conversion to cut the Wildcat lead to 22-8 with 9:55 left in the third quarter.
"In the second half I told the offensive coaches, I said, 'Let it loose, let's go,'" LePage said. "We put together some nice drives and got some stops."
The next Jays drive kept the rally from continuing.
Raymond Brown intercepted a Roberson pass after an 11-yard completion to Maleek Jackson set the Jays up 38 yards from the end zone.
Wheaton ran 42 yards on a reverse and Aveion Bailey finished off the seven-play drive with a 9-yard touchdown up the middle. The PAT made it 29-8 with 2:22 left in the third quarter.
The teams traded touchdowns before Blue Springs added a 37-yard field goal and a 73-yard touchdown run from Nick Wood in the middle of the fourth quarter.
The final score of the game was a 6-yard run from Roberson with 2:50 left in the game. Roberson added the 2-point conversion to make it 46-23.
"Stuff we should have been able to do in the first half," LePage said. "We did a lot of good things. It seemed like every time we had something a yellow hanky was out and it wasn't out very much on the other side, but I can't complain about it. It is what it is. We put ourselves in positions to make plays."
The Jays end the season with a 3-7 record.
"I love coaching these players because it would have been very easy about midway through the season to tank it and they didn't," LePage said. "They kept going, and I really appreciate our players and our coaches and how hard they've worked this year."