Jags disarm Patriots for 44-12 victory
The Northridge Jaguars are now 2-for-2 to start their four game home stand to open the 2025 season. Northridge jumped out to a 14-0 lead and held off a couple surges by American Christian Academy and eventually secured a 44-12 win. The Jag offense continues to shine and piled up 519 yards of total offense against the Patriots.
The Jags won the opening coin toss and elected to receive and things were looking good when the Jags scored on the opening drive. Except, the play was called back due to a penalty and the Jags continued a backward slide until an unsuccessful fourth down attempt handed the ball to the Patriots. The Northridge defense responded and held the Patriots and forced them into a 5-yard punt.
The Jags’ second drive came to an end when Damarcus Wilder crossed the goal line on a short run with 3:36 remaining in the first quarter. Hicks Finison continued his streak of made PATs, giving Northridge a 7-0 lead.
The Jaguars second score of the night came as the horn sounded the end of the first quarter. Mayson Elam hit Tate Espey for a 59-yard catch-and-run touchdown pass. Finison tacked on the PAT for a 14-0 lead for the Jags.
The Patriots found the end zone on their next possession, with a 20-yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed, closing the Northridge lead to 14-6 with 9:10 to go in the second quarter.
After the ensuing drive stalled for the Jags, Finison was true on his first field goal attempt of the season. The 25-yarder gave Northridge a 17-6 lead with 5:19 to go in the second quarter.
After the Jag defense held the Patriots on their ensuing possession, Elam found Espey for their second touchdown of the evening. The 20-yard connection and Finison PAT increased the Jags’ lead to 24-6 with 1:10 remaining in the first half, which ended with Northridge holding that lead.
The second half opened with the Jags kicking to the Patriots. The Northridge defense held ACA and the resulting punt hit the back of a Patriot at the line of scrimmage. Jonathan Shearer Brown picked up the loose ball and had a short return. With 6:19 to go in the third quarter, Elam found Demeriyan Cotton for a 15-yard touchdown strike. An errant snap diffused the PAT attempt, leaving the Jags with a 30-6 lead.
The Patriots closed the scoring gap on their next possession, with a 29-yard touchdown pass. The PAT failed, resulting in a 30-12 lead for Northridge with 3:12 remaining in the third quarter.
Not long into the fourth quarter and after a touchdown pass to Keith Powell was called back due to penalty, Jaylin McCray notched his lone touchdown of the night. Finison tacked on the PAT, giving Northridge a 37-12 lead with 10:25 remaining in the contest.
The last score of the night was in favor of the Jaguars and came at the 7:33 mark of the last stanza. Magnus Greimel got into the end zone and Finison rounded out the scoring when he hit the PAT, resulting in the final scoring total of the night at 44-12 in favor of the Jags.
Northridge’s Elam had another solid performance, collecting 280 yards passing. The Jag rushing attack improved by 80 yards from Week 1, tallying 239 yards on the ground. In the end, the Jags left the gridiron with 519 yards of total offense. (More stats to come later with the next edition of Tale of the Tape.)
The Jaguars improve to 2-0 on the young season and will host McAdory (2-0) next week at The Ridge, for both teams’ first region contest of the year.