Jackson Heights 8, Troy 7

It was a defensive battle in the 1A District opener on Friday night in Troy.  Both teams scored a first half touchdown, but after the Trojans took an early 7-0 lead, Jackson Heights scored and converted a two-point run, then held on for the 8-7 victory throughout the second half.  Troy tossed four interceptions in the game and had just 172 yards of total offense, despite forcing a pair of Cobra fumbles and holding the opponent to just 232 yards in the game. 

The game started one hour early and went by super fast, including a 45 minute first half with both teams keeping the ball on the ground.  Troy dominated the line of scrimmage in the opening quarter and marched 65 yards on eight plays, without a third down snap, to score on their second offensive possession.  Kipp Jasper capped the drive with a one-yard quarterback sneak and Marcus Martinez hit the PAT kick to make it 7-0 after one quarter. 

Jackson Heights drove nine plays on the ensuing drive but fumbled inside the Troy 10-yard-line.  The Cobras forced a quick Trojan punt and then capitalized on field position to score their only touchdown of the game on a short 42-yard drive that took six plays before Conlan Bruggeman scored from one-yard out.  Cooper Williams ran in the two-point-conversion to make it 8-7 with 9:21 remaining in the first half. 

Both teams had limited scoring opportunities the rest of the night as Kolby Rethman picked off his second Troy pass of the night early in the third quarter, but Jackson Heights turned the ball back over on downs after a 10-play drive that stalled at the Troy 36.  The Trojans tried and failed on a fake punt pass early in the fourth quarter and then got a 65-yard pass play from Kipp to Reid Jasper with under four minutes to play.  Yet, in the redzone, Troy was denied with a couple incompletions, and ended the game going 0-9 on third down conversions.  Their final drive ended with an interception by sophomore, Dylan Thompson, while freshman Jason Bosley also intercepted a pass late in the second quarter.        

Troy ran for 89 yards on 22 carries and was 5-19 passing for 83 yards.  Kipp Jasper led the team with 50 yards on 13 totes, while no other Troy player had more than four carries.   Reid Jasper had 64 yards receiving on two catches while Bray Davies caught three balls for 19 yards. 

Jackson Heights did not attempt a pass on the night and was very balanced in the run game.  Cooper Williams had 73 yards on 21 carries while Rethman ran 15 times for 64 yards and Bruggeman added 52 yards on 15 touches.  Thompson had eight carries and quarterback Cable Wareham kept the ball nine times for 30 yards, but also had a 52-yard bootleg whipped away by a holding penalty. 

There were a lot of great individual plays and tackles for a loss for many individuals on both defenses.  It was the first meeting between these teams since 2013, but for the fourth time in the last five contests, this matchup was decided by less than three points.  Jackson Heights improved to 5-1 on the season while Troy dropped their third straight to stand at 3-3.