Pioneers beat J-M to snap 18-game losing streak
ROGERSVILLE — With about three minutes left in the first half Friday night, junior West Greene quarterback Zach Pettit threw an interception to give Jefferson-Morgan a chance to tie the game going into halftime.
On the very next play, Pettit intercepted a Rocket pass as a defensive back to put the Pioneers back on offense. He then took a designed quarterback run 68 yards for a touchdown to give West Greene a 21-6 lead.
West Greene scored 41 unanswered points to defeat Jefferson-Morgan, 41-6, in Tri-County South Conference action. The Pioneers ended an 18-game losing streak, and the win is the first for head coach Rod Huffman, who is in his second season with West Greene.
West Greene is now 1-3 in the conference and 1-4 overall.
Huffman said he expected for his team to win, but he didn’t expect for the game to be a blowout.
“I figured it was going to be a hard-fought battle between two 0-4 teams,” he said. “All week long our guys have focused. I can’t say enough about how they played. I’m at a loss for words.”
Pettit said the win is vital for a West Greene program that has been scuffling in recent years.
“Tonight proves what we can do — proves that hard work can get you what you want,” Pettit said. “It’s a huge win. We’ve never been able to go over the top (and win). Tonight puts us over the top, and we’re expecting bigger and better things from now on.”
The run-first quarterback finished with 191 yards and four touchdowns on 15 carries. Pettit did not start the season as West Greene’s quarterback, but after senior Cole Hamilton went down with an injury, Huffman needed somebody to step up and lead the offense.
“Pettit’s such a good athlete. He’s Mr. Versatility,” Huffman said. “He does it all and takes control of this offense.”
Before Pettit scored four straight touchdowns, Jefferson-Morgan (0-5, 0-2) started the game with the ball, and on the first play from scrimmage senior running back Joe Headlee took a pitch and threw a perfect pass to junior wide receiver Colton Davdison for 48 yards. Two plays later, Headlee, who finished with 76 yards on 12 carries, put J-M ahead 6-0 on a 5-yard touchdown run.
After the opening drive of the game, the Rocket offense could not move the ball effectively due to offensive line issues, according to head coach Aaron Giorgi.
“We didn’t block very well, and if you don’t block very well, it’s hard to do much of anything,” he said.
The Pioneers responded quickly, though, as freshman running back Benjamin Jackson ran 38 yards on the first offensive play of the game for West Greene. Pettit capped the drive, running nine yards for a touchdown to tie the game at 6-6.
“They played downhill tonight, even after their first big play,” Huffman said. “And in the past, we’ve folded when something like that happens. We’ve never been able to come back from adversity. Tonight they grew up some, and I just hope it carries over.”
West Greene took the lead after an 11-play, 85-yard drive, which ended in a 34-yard touchdown run from Pettit. Sophomore wide receiver Nathan Brudnock caught the two-point conversion pass from Pettit to take a 14-6 lead.
Following Pettit’s 68-yard touchdown run after the back-to-back interceptions, the Pioneers went into the half ahead 21-6.
“What they did after they got their interception was score a touchdown,” Giorgi said. “Now, that’s what you’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to take a turnover and make it count. We didn’t make it count tonight.”
Pettit ran for his fourth touchdown of the game, a 37-yard dash, on West Greene’s first drive of the second half.
After a J-M turnover on downs on its own 34-yard line, the Pioneers took the ball to score on its third straight drive when Jackson scored from eight yards out.
“He’s a five-star athlete. He works 365 days a year to get better,” Huffman said. “He’s only a freshman, but he’s ahead of the game as far as maturity.”
With time winding down in the fourth quarter, Jackson evaded several Rocket defenders, breaking three tackles and going 30 yards into the end zone. A Pettit two-point conversion run on a dropped snap put the Pioneers ahead by 35 points.
Jackson finished the day with 149 yards rushing on 22 carries and two scores.
“Their focus was on stopping Jackson tonight, and we knew that, so we needed to kind of deviate from our original plan,” Huffman said. “Jackson got his yards, but they were focused on Jackson, and we were able to pull off some big plays with Pettit.”
West Greene will host Fort Cherry next week, while Jefferson-Morgan welcomes Avella. Both games are set to kickoff at 7 p.m.
Section 2-A
Tri-State South Conference
Jefferson-Morgan 聽 6-0-0-0 — 6
West Greene 聽 聽 聽 聽 6-15-12-8 — 41
First Quarter
J-M: Joe Headlee 5 run (kick failed), 10:53
WG: Zach Pettit 9 run (kick failed), 9:01
Second Quarter
WG: Pettit 34 run (Nathan Brudnock pass from Pettit), 8:09
WG: Pettit 68 run (Christian Fox kick), 2:33
Third Quarter
WG: Pettit 37 run (kick failed), 8:29
WG: Benjamin Jackson 8 run (kick failed), 3:57
Fourth Quarter
WG: Jackson 30 run (Pettit run), 2:31