Friday Night Lights VIII: Jaguars have tough sledding but fight Bolts to the end (VIDEO)

The heart and effort was there in spades, but the intensity was not quite at the level needed for the B-B-E Jaguars football team in a 38-22 loss tonight to Ashby/Brandon-Evansville. Take it from me: that score is deceiving. It's difficult to say that the team didn't play with the intensity needed to win the game. That statement fails to encapsulate the immense heart and tremendous teamwork displayed by the Jaguars tonight. It has been the same heart and teamwork they've had all season long. There are Class 1A teams with 2 and 3 times the roster that the Jaguars have who struggle win games or even put the ball in the endzone, yet this team has forged a 4-4 regular season with every intention on winning playoff games.

What more can we ask out of a roster of 22 players that has 3 on the injured list? Two of those 3 injured players won't play football this season.

Ashby/Brandon-Evansville's official roster lists 32 players, but my rough count only had about 25 in uniform tonight. The Bolts are a "very young" team with only 5 seniors.

Here's a video from the second quarter tonight:


In that video, the Jaguars put their first touchdown on the scoreboard with a reception by Noah DeRoo from Aiden Mueller. DeRoo's effort on the extra-point conversion carry was stopped 1 1/2 yards short. With 9:54 left in the second quarter, the Jaguars trailed 16-6.

At halftime, A/B-E led 24-6.

At the end of the third quarter, the Jaguars trailed 32-14. A/B-E scored with 1:55 left in the third quarter on a 25-yard quarterback run. Their two-point conversion with a pass play was successful for the 32-14 score.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Jaguars were threatening to cut it to a two-score game. At the start of the fourth, the Jaguars began their sixth drive of the game on A/B-E's 36-yard line. On the third play of the drive, A/B-E had a facemask penalty that gave the Jaguars first-and-goal on the six-yard line. Later on 4th-and-goal and the four, B-B-E had a false start penalty. Their next try on 4th down resulted in an incomplete pass. It was heartbreaking, as they turned the ball over on downs at the 8-yard line with 11:45 on the clock.

Some light game statistics:
While playing with basically 14 players, the Jaguars were outgained 390 yards to 197. They should be proud of having no lost fumbles, a good signt heading into the playoffs. Sophomore Noah DeRoo had a career night with 12 solo tackles and 7 assists.

Looking at the big picture...
The Jaguars are delivering, but tonight, the effort fell short to an A/B-E Bolts team that has a quarterback who ran roughshod at times over B-B-E's defense. We have a lot to be proud of, and we can carry that pride with the team into the postseason, which starts next week.

Next: the Section 5A quarterfinals are set for Tuesday, October 27. Other information is to-be-determined. We won't know anything for sure until mid-morning tomorrow - Wednesday, October 21.

In the Mid-Northwest Gold District, the Jaguars finished 3-4, which places them in a tie for fifth place with Maple Lake. Upsala/Swanville Area won the district title for the third straight year with a 7-0 record. Benson took second with a 6-1 record.

That's all I've got. I am going to write up this game the best I can and publish it in the newspaper tomorrow morning. Good night, Jaguar Country!

Mid-Northwest Gold District Week 8 scores on October 20:
Maple Lake 16, Browerville 6 (Tigers fall to 2-6 and will likely be the No. 6 seed in Section 5A)
Benson 36, Long Prairie-Grey Eagle 6 (Braves have won 6 straight games)
Upsala/Swanville Area 41, West Central Area 0 (Knights are blanked in Swanville tonight)