Monday, September 20, 2021

Ethan Lininger Blocks Two Punts as JH Tigers Shut Out Albany

Ethan Lininger blocked two punts for the junior high Tigers as they got their third win of the year, a 54-0 win over Albany. The Tigers were sputtering on offense early, but they found their footing later on to pull away for the win. It was their second shutout of the year as they only allowed only one play over 10 yards against the Warriors.

The Tigers struggled at first after forcing a three and out and a shanked punt gave them good field position at the 40. A sack forced them into third and long, but a 13 yard catch and run from Brayden Stevens to Bo Collins got a first down at the 29. Collins converted a first down run to the 15, picked up another 12 yard pass play to the 3, and Caleb New got a block from Franklin Hoff to score with 2:06 left. 

While the offense was sputtering, the defense was playing lights out, driving back the Warriors on three straight possessions before they were forced to punt. This time, Ethan Lininger shot through the line and blocked the first of two straight punts and Bo Collins recovered it at the 14. Lininger's punt blocks seemed to spark the offense, as they looked much sharper on their next possession. Franklin Hoff picked up three, and then Brayden Stevens got a block from Bo Collins and found nothing but daylight around the right end to take it to the house from the 11 with 7:52 left in the second.

Brayden Stevens and Lucas Frisch had stops on defense, and then Frisch got a hurry on the quarterback as Franklin Hoff got a pass breakup on third down to force another three and out. Lininger shot through and blocked his second straight punt and Worth County had the short field again at the 12. This time, they only needed one play to get into the end zone as Caleb New optioned it into the end zone after getting a block from Hoff. On the extra point try, Worth County pitched it back to Collins for the halfback pass, but finding nobody open, he ran it into the end zone to make it 20-0 with 5:59 left.

Worth County held the Warriors to negative yardage on the ground again, and Brayden Murphy had a quarterback hurry on third down to force the Warriors to punt again. This time, Albany got the punt off, but Brayden Stevens got a good return, breaking a host of tackles to the 40. Franklin Hoff ripped off 10 yards to the 30, and then Bo Collins took it around the left end, got a block from Lucas Frisch, and took it to the house with 4:07 left. Worth County lined up in an unbalanced formation and Brayden Stevens took it in on a sneak to make it 28-0 for the extra point try.

Albany had their most promising drive on their next series as Eliot Mercer overcame a third and 11 with a 27 yard carry to the Tiger 19. But then Ethan Lininger dropped him for a loss of one, a botched screen went nowhere, and Mercer only got one yard. On fourth down, Albany had a receiver all alone for a score, but the pass was too far, and Worth County went into the half up 28-0.

Brayden Stevens showed he is a force to be reckoned with when returning kicks, as he broke down the right side, got two blocks, and got to the Warrior 23 to start the second half. Caleb New's catch and run took the Tigers to the 13, he burst nine more yards to the four, and Stevens took it the rest of the way.

Ethan Lininger was a wall on defense and the Tigers forced another Warrior three and out. On fourth and 12 from the 28, a bad snap on the punt attempt put the Tigers on the Warrior 25 and another short field to work with. This time, Brayden Stevens took a keeper 11 yards to the 14 after getting a block from Bo Collins. There was a fumbled exchange on the handoff on the next play, but Stevens scooped it up and gained 13 on the busted play to the 4. Hoff got blocks from Collins and Lininger on the next play to take it to the house. Brayden Stevens got a block from Brayden Murphy and added the extra points to make it 42-0.

Albany tried a quick pitch on its next series and it looked like it was going somewhere, but Lucas Frisch was hot in pursuit and ran it down, and Albany was forced to punt. The kick was shanked, the Tigers started off on the 40, and Bo Collins took a short pass and turned it into a touchdown after Caleb New knocked down his man downfield to spring him loose. Brayden Stevens finished his night completing all five of his passes for 90 yards. That put the Tigers up 48-0.

After Worth County forced another three and out, Stevens ran back the ensuing kick 50 yards for a touchdown to make it 54-0, and then Frisch pounced on a squib kick to put the reserves in good position. Cole Ruby ripped off a seven yard option run, while Hayden Sanders rolled out perfectly and completed a 22 yard pass to Brayden Combs. 

Worth County ripped off 285 yards in 30 plays, almost ten yards per play. They held Albany to 16 yards in 26 plays, less than one yard per play. Brayden Stevens had 6 carries for 60 yards, Caleb New 5 carries for 41 yards, Franklin Hoff four carries for 24 yards, Bo Collins 2 carries for 35 yards, Reece Grey 3 carries for 7 yards, and Cole Ruby 2 carries for 6 yards. Brayden Stevens completed all five of his pass attempts for 90 yards, while Hayden Sanders completed one pass in one attempt for 22 yards. Bo Collins had 4 catches for 80 yards, while Brayden Combs had 1 catch for 22 yards and Caleb New 1 catch for 10 yards. 

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