Dominant Defense Leads Jaguars To Victory

Written by: Billy Scully on Saturday, September 27th, 2008. Follow Billy Scully on Twitter.

The Garnet Valley Jaguars traveled to Conestoga Friday night to play the Pioneers, and to try to keep their record undefeated. Last week the Jaguars won against Strath Haven while the Pioneers lost to another tough opponent in the Central League, Ridley. Conestoga has been a very tough team in the past in the Central League and the Jaguars knew it wasn’t going to be easy, but the final score just might show how tough Garnet Valley is.

With the misty rain in the air the Jaguars received the ball first and kick returner, punt returner, and wide receiver Paul Dunn started the game off right with a big return and moving the ball right down the field which lead to a four minute drive when Garnet Valley’s quarter back Mark McHugh sneaked into the end zone from one yard out. Once again the Jaguars were quickly leading 7-0. Then just three minutes later Jaguars’ running back Tim Keyser found some room along with good blocking and ran in a 15 yard touchdown run to make the score 14-0, Jags. “It was congested in the middle so I just bounced it to the outside and scored.” Tim Keyser said.

Nearing the end of the quarter the Pioneers finally made some noise as Conestoga picked off a pass thrown by Garnet Valley’s quarterback Mark McHugh, but after gaining a few yards the Pioneers came up empty on the scoreboard and the first quarter ended 14-0 Garnet Valley. Then finally early in the second quarter Conestoga kicked a 25 yard field goal by Nick Deluca, which cut the Jaguars lead to 11.

Later in the second quarter Mark McHugh threw a quick pass to Jared Bonacquisti and down the sidelines he went for a 19 yard gain. The Jaguars eventually got to the five yard line; Mark McHugh stepped back and threw a fade out pass play to Senior Paul Dunn. “We had great pass protection and Mark put the ball in a great spot and it worked out for us.” Said Dunn which gave the Jaguars a lead of 20-3, and Garnet Valley never looked back.

With the offense doing their job the defense steeped up too. With Conestoga driving and trying to score some points, Conestoga’s quarterback Mike Bronzino threw a big interception to defensive back Regis Whittington which killed the Pioneers drive and led the Jaguars down the field for another touchdown. Mark McHugh and Paul Dunn made one more connection for a touchdown. Wide Receiver Paul Dunn said “Mark and I have a great connection right now we’ve been doing well and we hope to continue for the rest of the season.”

In the third quarter Dunn continued to catch the ball well with a 15 yard catch from McHugh. After the big catch Tim Keyser added to the score as he dashed into the end zone for a 35 yard touchdown run giving the Jaguars a 32-3 lead. Tim Keyser said “I didn’t even get touched; the line did an excellent job.” He also said “Matt McGraw and Connor Price threw two great blocks and it was almost like a video game play.”

Just like the last drive in which Dunn got the Jaguars into the red zone, he did it again on a long punt return, almost scoring, as he was tackled at the two yard line. The Jaguars took advantage of Dunn’s long return and scored with Marcellus Irving to extend the lead, 39-3. The defense sacked Conestoga’s quarterback six times. Quarterback Mark McHugh ended the game throwing for 49 yards and two touchdown passes. Tim Keyser rushed for nearly a hundred yards while the other running back Bonacquisti rushed for 77.

The final score in this game was all Jaguars, 45-10. Next week the Conestoga Pioneers will play at Upper Darby, while the Garnet Valley Jaguars face off at home against Haverford Township. Paul Dunn added “They (Haverford Township) score a lot of points on offense and their defense comes in many different forms, we got to be ready and we have to be well prepared.”

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