Scofield kicks Jags to OT victory over ACA, 17-14

Friday night at American Christian Academy was a testament of perseverance in a few categories for the Northridge Jaguars. Perseverance of a defense that found itself in a place where it absolutely had to contain an opponent. Perseverance of an offense that only put together two scoring drives, but did so when absolutely necessary. (Note: The Patriots defense was playing very well against the Jags.) And the perseverance of a kicker who missed an early FG but came through with the game winner in OT. The culmination of that perseverance was a 17-14 walk-off win in OT, as the Jags claimed victory over the Patriots.

The Jags won the coin toss and elected to receive, but things did not start out well for the Jags on their first drive. A Patriot defender picked off the first Jags’ pass and raced to the end zone to pump up the home crowd at ACA. The PAT gave the Patriots a 7-0 lead with 11:35 to go in first quarter.

The Jags second possession saw Rowdy Christensen connect with Mayson Elam to convert on a fourth down to keep the drive alive. When the drive stalled, the Jags missed a scoring opportunity when Caleb Scofield’s plant foot appeared to slip on the turf, causing him to miss a 26-yard FG at the 5:38 mark of the first quarter.

That would be the closest the Jags came to scoring in the first half. Both defenses were playing well and the Patriots carried a 7-0 into halftime.

After receiving the opening kick of the second half, the Patriots struck early with a 75-yard catch and run for a TD at the 10:35 mark of the third quarter. The successful PAT had the Jags looking at a 14-0 Patriot lead.

The Jags put together a nice drive and Jacob Hall punched it from 1-yard out with 5:39 remaining in the third quarter. Scofield tacked on the PAT to reduce the Jags’ deficit to 14-7.

The Jag defense settled back down after the Patriots’ only offensive score of the night and the Jags and Patriots traded a few punts.

Another good drive by the Jags saw them facing 4th-and-5 from the Patriot 7-yard line. Christensen hit Keith Powell who got the ball close enough for a measurement. The placement was about a foot past the stick, giving the Jags a first and goal. From there, Jaylin McCray got in and Scofield added the PAT to tie the game at 14-14 with 2:48 to go.

In the next two minutes, the Patriots and Jags traded punts, with the last Jags’ punt being fielded and taken out of bounds at the Jag 38 with :24 to go. The Jag defense held the Patriots in check and the Patriots lined up for a 42-yard game winning FG with 4.3 seconds to go. The kick was low and wide left, sending the game into OT.

One last time, the Jag defense showed up and stuffed the Patriots on fourth down from about a foot out. Two running plays from the Jags didn’t yield much and the third play was Christensen lining it up in the middle for Scofield, who trotted onto the field and easily nailed the 32-yard FG for the walk-off win.

The Jags continue the season opening road tour when they travel north, to take on region foe McAdory, next Friday night.