Johnson Creek Dominates Marshall in Season Opener (Football)

The defending Trailways Conference Champions are off to a hot start as the Johnson Creek Blue Jays rolled over the Marshall Cardinals in the season opener, 49-7, at Marshall High School on Thursday Night. 

Both teams started a bit rough out of the gate, having to punt on their respective possessions.  Marshall would strike first at the 1:42 mark of the first quarter as quarterback Brady Kleinheinz (#9) ran in a 22-yard touchdown.  

Trailing 7-0 after the first quarter, the Blue Jays answered on their next possession with a 52-yard touchdown run by Luke Hartz (#9).  After that, things didn't go so well for the Cardinals.  Their next possession resulted in a fumble by Logan Ney (#6), which was recovered by the Blue Jays.  

A couple of possessions later, the Blue Jays would strike again on a 20-yard touchdown pass from Aiden Smith (#1) to Luke Hartz with a few minutes left to go in the second quarter.  After that, the Blue Jays would score two more times before the half, with Smith connecting on a 52-yard touchdown pass to Hartz with 3:06 left in the half and Hartz running in a 14-yard touchdown with 37 seconds left in the half, giving the Blue Jays a 28-7 lead.  

The second half was more of the same.  Blue Jays running back Owen Blakey (#24) ran for a 57-yard touchdown on the first play of their first possession in the second half.  Later on in the third quarter, Jackson Raabe would score on a 6-yard touchdown run, giving the Blue Jays a 42-7 lead at the end of the third quarter.

At the 8:51 mark in the fourth quarter, the Blue Jays would deliver their final score of the game as Jackson Raabe ran in a 45-yard touchdown.  On top of Raabe's 2 offensive touchdowns, he also had a fumble recovery and an interception on defense.  

All in all, Aiden Smith completed all five of his passes for 108 yards and two touchdowns.  Luke Hartz scored a total of four touchdowns, and Owen Blakey rushed for 138 yards and a touchdown.  

After starting the season 1-0, the Johnson Creek Blue Jays will head home to face Deerfield next Thursday, August 28th, at 7pm.  

COMPLETE OFFENSIVE STATS

JC Passing:
#1 Aiden Smith 5-5, 108 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT

JC Rushing:
#24 Owen Blakey 13 car. 138 yards, 1 TD
#9 Luke Hartz 5 car. 93 yards, 2 TD
#7 Jackson Raabe 7 car. 92 yards, 2 TD
#1 Aiden Smith 7 car. 31 yards, 1 fumble
#20 Tyler Holland 1 car. 1 yard
#6 AJ Whitehouse 1 car. 0 yards

JC Receiving:
#9 Luke Hartz 4 rec. 93 yards 2 TD
#11 Evan Malueg 1 rec. 15 yards