Friday Night Lights VI: Jaguars give 200-percent effort in close Homecoming loss (VIDEOS added**)

Two things stand out as I settle in and start reviewing Homecoming game notes tonight. On the home gridiron, the B-B-E Jaguars football team gave a 200-percent effort against a bigger, deeper Benson Braves team across the entire 48 minutes of play on Tackle Cancer night. Not a soul in the stadium walked away with the ability to say one team outplayed the other. For the entire 48 minutes, a terrific football game played out. Yes, Benson came to play, but in spite of that 200-percent effort by the Jaguars, the Braves capitalized on a plus-three figure in the turnover department to claim a 24-14 win and improve to 4-2 overall.

The outcome was in doubt until the closing minutes of the fourth quarter. For Benson, this was their fourth straight win. In that span, this was far and away their toughest of all four. Benson has a terrific team with a roster of just 28 players. B-B-E's official roster is 22. In tonight's game, the Jaguars had 20 players dressed, while Benson had 26 players suited up. Benson has 7 seniors.

Four uncharacteristic-like turnovers cost the Jaguars a shot at ending a Homecoming game skid. They've now fallen in three straight Homecoming games, with these latest two being by close margins. Last year, Maple Lake won 14-12 on a night when both the Irish and Jaguars entered the game with identical 4-1 records.

Turnovers are part of the game, and turnovers happen in football. The tell-tale sign is how a team recovers from them, and on this night, the Jaguars almost overcame four turnovers. (Almost) A three turnover game may very well have had a different outcome. Nevertheless, how blessed are we in Jaguar Country! We are extremely blessed to have a group of football players who study and work their tails off while competing at a high level. This continues to be far and away my favorite B-B-E football team. The heart and stamina which they display is something I'll never forget as long as I live.

As for Tackle Cancer night, it was quite special to get a front-row seat to the pregame coin flip. Two guests of the coin flip huddle were Landon Deters and Easton Rood. Easton is an elementary student at B-B-E who is also a cancer survivor. Bentley Deters is a member of the football team. His mom, Joslyn, is currently receiving cancer treatments. Funds raised tonight are earmarked for the Deters family.

Next: the Jaguars (3-3) have a short week while preparing for their MEA week game. They travel to Long Prairie-Grey Eagle next Wednesday, October 14. In their Week 6 game, the Thunder were defeated 43-0 by West Central Area in Long Prairie. I am sure that WCA was smarting and in a bad mood after getting thrashed by Benson last week in Barrett. They no doubt took out that frustration on LP-GE tonight.

In the Mid-Northwest Gold District standings, the Jaguars hold a 2-3 record and have fallen into a tie for fifth place with Maple Lake. Benson has control of second place with a 4-1 record. State-ranked Upsala/Swanville Area continues in first place with a 5-0 record (6-0 overall). Their district winning streak dates back to October of 2023.

NOTE: this blog post will be fully updated on Saturday. It probably won't be finished until later in the afternoon. The day of Saturday, October 10 is going to be super, super busy.

Here's a video featuring action in the second quarter tonight:


More to come. Video is uploading.

*Here's the final minutes of the second quarter tonight:


If the Jaguars could have narrowed the score to 16-12 or even 16-14 at halftime, the outcome could have been a win. Who knows what would have played out in the second half. It wasn't quite as difficult as last week's loss, but this Homecoming loss was a really tough one to swallow.

Scoring summary:
With 11:54 left in the second quarter, Benson scored on a one-yard quarterback sneak. Adrian Young ran in the two-point conversion. Benson 8, B-B-E 0.
With 6:50 left in the second quarter, Benson scored on Connor Stine's 42-yard carry. Young carried in the conversion play. Benson 16, B-B-E 0.
With 3:54 left in the second quarter, B-B-E scored on a one-yard carry by Noah DeRoo. The two-point conversion pass was incomplete. Benson 16, B-B-E 6.
With 7:38 left in the fourth quarter, B-B-E scored on DeRoo's 10-yard reception. Aiden Mueller ran the quarterback sneak for the conversion play. Benson 16, B-B-E 14.
With 2:13 left in the fourth quarter, Benson scored on Young's 3-yard carry. Ethan Tolifson caught the conversion pass. Benson 24, B-B-E 14.

The dagger...which all but sealed the game's outcome: after Benson scored a touchdown late in the fourth quarter, their kickoff team came up big with a fumble recovery. With just over 2 minutes to go, the Braves ran the ball once. On second down and third downs, Benson quarterback Darin Hippe took a knee in a classy move by the Braves.

Some light game statistics:
The Jaguars continue to play outstanding high school football. They racked up nearly 250 yards of offense, which is remarkable playing with such a short roster. Statistics show 245 yards gained on 49 plays. For Benson, they had 317 yards on 60 plays. Benson managed to gain 317 yards with just two completed passes, a 14-yard catch and a 13-yard catch. The Braves had just one lost fumble compared to three by the Jaguars.

I continue to be amazed at B-B-E's diversity on offense. Quarterback Aiden Mueller was 13-of-24 for 143 yards while connecting with five different receivers tonight.

DON'T forget! Saturday night this weekend: the Crow River Lutheran supper and auction (4 to 9 p.m.) plus the Elrosa Fire Department steak fry (4 to 8 p.m.)! Please spread the word.

Mid-Northwest Gold District Week 6 football scores on October 9:
Ashby/Brandon-Evansville 16, Browerville 8
West Central Area 43, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 0
Upsala/Swanville Area 55, Maple Lake 12

Area Week 6 football scores on October 9:
Menahga 46, New York Mills 6
Pierz 79, St. Cloud Apollo 7
Dawson-Boyd 28, MACCRAY 7
Russel-Tyler-Ruthton 47, BOLD 0
Royalton 36, Osakis 34
Hancock 58, Fertile-Beltrami 8
Albany 35, Little Falls 20
Dassel-Cokato 57, Montevideo 6
Litchfield 62, Morris Area/Chokio-Alberta 35
Alexandria 41, Bemidji 21
Minnewaska Area 37, Sauk Centre 16
Minneota 47, Lac qui Parle Valley 8
Willmar 62, St. Cloud Tech 14
Paynesville Area 26, St. Cloud Cathedral 7
Melrose Area 38, Holdingford 27
Eden Valley-Watkins 54, Kerkhoven-Murdock-Sunburg 8
New London-Spicer 47, Howard Lake-Waverly-Winsted 21
Redwood Valley 38, Kimball Area 18