By By Chandler Myers
Prizes are never given to second place in football and never awarded to the loser in a football game, but if there was an award for an improvement the Northview Chiefs might receive it for their perfomance against the West Florida Jaguars.
The Chiefs (2-8, 1-3) fell to the Jaguars (4-6) 31-20, but showed improvement that was acknowledged by their coaches.
Chiefs head coach Cody Keene said his team made some mistakes, but played the hardest he had seen this season.
Early in the game, the Chiefs fell behind after the Jaguars put an 80-yard drive together and scored on a 14-yard scramble by their quarterback.
Northview did not shy away like they have in most of their games. They answered the Jaguars with a 74-yard drive down the field led by freshman quarterback Brandon Sheets.
Sheets completed 15-of-28 passes for 219 yards, two touchdowns and carried the ball three times for two yards and a touchdown.
On the drive, Sheets completed a 15-yard rocket to senior Jay Jackson and two plays later hit sophomore Dustin Yuhasz in the middle of the field, and Yuhasz ran 54 yards to the endzone. The extra point was blocked and the Chiefs were down 7-6.
Yuhasz finished the game with four receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Jackson led the Chiefs in receptions with eight and recorded 81 yards.
Keene said Sheets played his best game and made the coaches look good for playing him.
The defenses for both teams took charge over the next couple series as both teams fell into a deadlock with each gaining ground, but failing to put the ball into the endzone.
Scoring picked up again in the second quarter as the Jaguars put together a short drive after returning a punt to the Chiefs 38-yard line. The Jaguars pushed their way all the way down to the Chiefs five-yard line, and on third-down and goal their running back punched it in to make the score 14-6 in favor of West Florida.
Three series later, the Jaguars were on the move again, but they could not make it past the Chiefs 15-yard line and settled for a field goal to make the score 17-6 with two-minutes to go in the first half.
With the ball on their own nine-yard line, the Chiefs lined up with a hurry up offense in mind. On first down, Sheets hit Jackson for a seven-yard pass. On second down, Sheets threw an incomplete pass, and on third down he hit Jackson again for 20 yards. After a spike, Sheets hit Yuhuasz on a screen, and Yuhasz took the ball and hustled down the field for a 63-yard touchdown. On the PAT, Sheets hit Jay Jackson, who bulled his way into the endzone for two points. At the half, the Chiefs trailed 17-14.
Keene said the Sheets to Yuhasz was a great play and it was one of the best executed plays this season.
In the second half, Northview fell further back after punting and the Jaguars scored on their first possession to go up by 10, 24-14.
Then both offenses fell into a lull with Northview punting followed by both teams fumbling on their next possessions.
After recovering a Jaguars fumble, the Chiefs pushed their way down the field again and on first and goal from the four, Sheets scrambled into the endzone dragging two defenders with him. The PAT suffered a bad snap and the Chiefs trailed 24-20.
The Jaguars put the nail in the coffin on their next possession and drove 70 yards to score the final touchdown of the game and go up 31-20.
Keene said he was proud of the effort that the players put out against the Jaguars. He added that the Chiefs seniors will be missed.