JEFFERSONVILLE — On Friday night at Blair Field, the Jeffersonville football team got its chance to avenge last year’s loss to Castle in the Class 5A Sectional 8 championship, but failed to take advantage of that opportunity in a 21-14 loss.

The Knights gained 313 total yards to defeat Jeff in the first round of Sectional 8 action.

Jeff (5-5) grabbed a 7-0 lead on its first drive of the game. At the 8:29 mark of the first quarter, Red Devil quarterback Dalton Conway executed a quarterback sneak from a yard out and entered the end zone.

A 50-yard pass play from Conway to junior Andrel Williams to the Castle 1-yard line set up the touchdown.

The Knights were on the verge of answering the Red Devils’ score on the next drive. They used 14 plays to move the ball from their own 29 to the Jeff 1. On fourth-and-goal, Castle quarterback Schuyler Cooper tried his own sneak, but slipped on the muddy Blair Field and fell just short of the goal line to give the ball back to the Devils.

Jeff, though, failed to take advantage of the Knights’ lack of execution by having a three-and-out and a 27-yard punt by senior Joseph Daniel, giving Castle the ball at the Jeff 34. The Knights then went on a six-play scoring drive, which ended with an 8-yard touchdown reception by E.J. Tatum with 8:46 remaining in the second quarter. Tatum caught the ball off a curl-in pattern, while the Jeff defense brought a blitz.

After Castle defensive end Morgan Lemond intercepted a Conway screen pass at the Jeff 30, the Knights needed only one play to take their first lead of the contest.

Cooper hit junior wide receiver Trey Smith in the right corner of the end zone to put Castle up 14-7 at the 5:46 mark of the second period.

The Red Devils deadlocked the game at 14 with 27 seconds left in the first half. On third-and-one at the Castle 6, Conway hit Williams on a quick slant pattern in a five-wide formation, and Williams entered the end zone.

The Conway-to-Williams connection hooked up three plays earlier to put Jeff in the red zone. Williams snagged a 26-yard reception that placed the ball at the Castle 15.

The Knights got the lead back at the 1:11 mark of the third quarter. Junior running back Logan Hayford collected his 13th rushing touchdown of the season, racing 24 yards to the end zone. Earlier in the drive, Hayford got the ball in Jeff territory with a 46-yard scamper, placing the ball at the Red Devil 33.

On the ensuing kickoff, Castle recovered an onside kick to get the ball at the Jeff 48. The Knights moved the ball to the Jeff 19, but failed to extend the lead to two possessions when sophomore place-kicker Cameron Steenburg missed a 37-yard field goal wide right.

Jeff advanced the pigskin down to near midfield on its next series. But on first-and-10 from the Jeff 43, Williams fumbled the ball after a 7-yard run, which was recovered by Lemond.

Castle got the ball down to the Jeff 33, but gave up the ball on downs when Hayford was inches short of the first-down marker on a fourth-down run.

Jeff tried to put together a game-tying drive, getting the ball to its own 42. But two Knights’ defensive plays ended the Red Devils’ season. On third-and-eight, Williams lost seven yards on a reverse. Then Castle linebacker Aaron Olsen picked off a Conway pass at the Jeff 45 to seal the win.

Hayford carried the ball 24 times for a game-high 129 yards. Cooper was 14-of-24 passing for 121 yards and one interception.

Williams had 12 carries for 73 yards and five receptions for 95 yards. Fellow Jeff running back Taylor Magnuson came back after missing the past two games due to a leg injury. But after rushing six times for 20 yards in the first quarter and a half of the game, Magnuson left the game and did not return.

Conway completed 8-of-16 passes for 115 yards and two interceptions.

The Knights will host Bedford North Lawrence in the Sectional 8 semifinal next Friday.



CASTLE 0 14 7 0—21

JEFF 7 7 0 0—14

1st quarter

J — Conway 1 run (Straight kick), 8:29.

2nd quarter

C — Tatum 8 pass from Cooper (Steenburg kick), 8:46.

C — Smith 30 pass from Cooper (Steenburg kick), 5:46.

J — Williams 6 pass from Conway (Straight kick), :27.

3rd quarter

C — Hayford 24 run (Steenburg kick), 1:11.