A season of hard work and steady improvement by the Jordan-Elbridge football team culminated in high style.
The Eagles used two big plays from its defense in the fourth quarter to prevail in last Thursday’s game against Westhill, beating the Warriors 24-6 to finish its season at 4-4, while Westhill plunged to 1-7, having lost seven straight following a season-opening win over Solvay.
It took a while to get to that decisive moment, though. Following a scoreless first quarter, J-E pulled in front, 7-0, in the second period, Cody Lewis finding the end zone on a four-yard run and Anthony DiSanto adding an extra point.
There it remained until the third quarter, when Westhill moved to the Eagles’ three-yard line before Tyler Hemmes ran in for a touchdown. However, the conversion was missed, leaving J-E in front 7-6.
As the tension built, early in the fourth quarter J-E moved to the Warriors’ 21-yard line. On fourth down, DiSanto came in to try a 38-yard field goal, and belted it through the uprights, making it 10-6.
Nothing was settled, though, until Leland Holmes delivered back-to-back defensive gems. First, he stepped in front of a Westhill pass at the Eagles’ 30-yard line and brought it back 70 yards for a touchdown.
Now trailing 17-6, the Warriors again tried to catch up through the air – and again Holmes stopped those notions, getting a second interception and returning it 62 yards for six more points. In addition to his defensive heroics, Holmes led the Eagles with 59 rushing yards on 20 carries.
Mitch Cooper added 51 yards on 13 attempts, but saved his best work for the defensive side, taking part in 17 tackles, six of them solo.
Holmes and Tom Albring each had 11 tackles, with Joe Mills (10 tackles), Logan Smart (nine tackles) and Frank Bartkowiak (eight tackles) close behind. Smart added a fumble recovery as Adam Vanwart earned an interception.
