By Murray Gleffe, Sports Correspondent
The duo of Nick Howard (126 yards rushing) and Josh Komis (169 yards rushing) proved to be too much Friday evening at Dahlin Stadium as the Green Bay Southwest Trojans defeated the Ashwaubenon Jaguars by a final of 38-26. In the defeat, Will Adair had 8 catches for 111 yards, and 3 touchdowns. The Jaguars fall to 1-4 in FRCC play, and must win their final 4 games to qualify for the playoffs.
The Jaguars opened the game with the ball and drove 9 plays before their drive stalled and had to punt. The Trojans started their first series on their own 30 and showcased their supreme running talent right from the get go. Komis busted three runs for 26 yards, and Howard another two for 25 yards. A few plays later, Komis went in from 1 yard out to give the Trojans a 7-0 lead. They would not stop there. After another Jaguar punt, the Trojans used a couple of sideline patterns to generate 25 yards through the air. The Trojans then struck for 39 yards on a jet sweep to Noah Schmidt, and Howard finished the drive off by himself scampering 20 yards into the endzone. The Trojans took a 14-0 lead with 1:45 still remaining in the 1st quarter.
After a third Jaguar punt, the Trojans looked like they were going in for a third touchdown. However, the Jaguar defense got stingy in the red zone. It forced the Trojans into a field goal by Camden Czarnecki which was nailed directly through the uprights to extend the lead to 17-0. Midway through the 2nd quarter ‘momentum’ shifted in a big way when Jaguar defensive back Riley Siudzinski picked off Nick Howard at the Jaguar 10-yard line and returned the ball 62 yards to the Trojan 28-yard line. The Jaguars took advantage of the miscue and three plays later Jaguars QB Anthony Guarascio connected with Will Adair for 28 yards and a Jaguar touchdown. It cut the margin to 17-7 with 3:07 left till half.
The Trojans responded by going 65 yards with a combination of rushing and receiving along the way. During the drive, Trojan receiver Noah Schmidt made a key reception on a third down, and Nick Howard capped the drive off with a 4-yard touchdown reception to Schmidt to extend the lead to 24-7 just before half. The Jaguars got into field goal position thanks to a huge Will Adair kickoff return. Jaguars placekicker Kole Kolinski booted a 30-yard FG, to cut the margin to 24-10, as time expired in the first half.
The Jaguars used that three points as a boost to catapult them right into half number two. On the second play from scrimmage in the third quarter, the Trojans Nick Howard lost the ball on an option read play and Jaguars LB Camden Wheeler fell on the fumble recovery. The Jaguars struck on the first play after the turnover. Guarascio hit Adair from 17 yards and suddenly the Jaguars only trailed 24-17 despite the huge yardage disparity in favor of the Trojans.
Every time the Jaguars creeped within a touchdown, the Trojans had an answer. Four plays into the next series, Nick Howard ran right, and pitched to Josh Komis who bulldozed two secondary players for the Jaguars en route to the endzone. When the dust had settled, Komis had went 54 yards and put the Trojans up by two scores (31-17) once again.
The Jaguars tacked on another FG by Kolinski, but the Trojans put the game away midway through the 4th quarter after a four-play drive ended with Nick Howard throwing a towering spiral to Noah Schmidt for a 47-yard touchdown reception. It gave the Trojans a 38-20 lead. The Jaguars added a late touchdown to make the final margin a 38-26 Trojan victory. The Jaguars will host the Manitowoc Ships on September 22nd.
Game Preview: Manitowoc Ships (0-5) at Ashwaubenon Jaguars (1-4)
The Ashwaubenon Jaguars finally get away from the top echelon of teams in Week 6. However, every game is a must win from here on out for the Jaguars to make the playoffs in 2017. Anthony Guarascio and Will Adair hooked up 8 times in last Friday’s 38-26 loss vs the Trojans. Alex Stanko looks to get back on track vs the Ships after being limited to less than 50 yards in last week’s game. Marcus Wagner, Cam Wheeler, Diego Zastrow, and Riley Siudinski continue to anchor the Jaguars defense, and again will be counted on to have a big week. Ships QB Jared Lensmeyer has thrown for 955 yards. Tanner Hadler has been his favorite target hauling in 31 balls for 390 yards. On the ground, the Ships have been stymied in 2017. Owen Lettenberger leads the way with 261 yards, but has done it on 75 carries, netting only a 3.5 y/p/c average.