Just when it looked like Fox would run away to another blowout win against Seckman, the Jaguars found some magic from their biggest playmaker.
Down 27-7, the Jaguars scored the next 14 points to pull within 27-21 at halftime. But Fox quarterback Gavin McGinness had a nose for the end zone all night and scored two of his six touchdowns in the third quarter to lift the Warriors (9-1, No. 2 seed) to a 62-35 win in the Class 5 District 1 semifinals on Friday in Arnold.
Sandwiched between McGinness touchdown runs of 1 and 22 yards in the third, Seckman’s Dylan Hawk returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD as Seckman (6-4, No. 3) tried to keep pace with the powerful Warriors’ running attack that ground up 574 yards with senior Bob Neibert leading the way with 250 yards on 21 carries.
McGinness added 185 yards on 15 carries.
Neibert, McGinness and Cole Elwood, all seniors, all rushed for more than 100 yards when the Warriors beat the Jaguars 49-0 last month. Neibert and McGinness are both over 1,000 yards for the season.
“We didn’t do a great job of defending against them at times, but our offensive line moved people,” Fox head coach Brent Tinker said. “Bobby had a huge night and Gavin, again, decided who gets the ball. So it was pretty much our big-name guys coming through again. But I thought our defense would have been able to make a few big plays, particularly in the first half.”
Trailing Fox 13-0, Hawk snared a 27-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Seth Lounsbury for the first Jaguar score at 9:25 of the second quarter, and added a 1-yard TD run with 3:02 to play in the half. Drew Campbell scored from a yard out for Seckman with 24 seconds left in the second.
But in the second half, even though Seckman cut the Fox lead from 34-21 to 34-28 after Hawk’s kick return, the Warriors went into business-like mode. McGinness scored twice, on runs of 22 and 77 yards. Neibert added another TD and Jahaud Thompson scored the final Warriors’ points with a minute left.
Lounsbury injured his right knee in the first meeting against Fox and didn’t play in the Jaguars’ previous game against Eureka. It was obvious Lounsbury wasn’t 100 percent, although he ran for a 75-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter.
McGinness tied Levi Terrell’s school record for touchdowns in a game, set in 2008 against Oakville in a state quarterfinal game. The six scores by McGinness also broke the school record by rushing scores from a quarterback, previously held by Tony Pisoni (four). And to cap the record-setting night, the Warriors set another as a team with 574 rushing yards.
Tinker said after the game that he wasn’t expecting a walk in the park, as in the previous meeting between the two schools.
“I’m not shocked by the way they played,” Tinker said. “Seckman has some good players and tough kids. I thought Blake Fritz did a spectacular job for them, and I was obviously happy to see Seth finally getting to play a whole year. Doug Baker is getting their program turned around.”
McGinness said he thought the outcome was obvious.
“I thought we would completely stomp them,” he said. “In the second half, we put up a fight, and just did our thing. We had good blocking up front all game and let our system do the work.”
Neibert said he didn’t care who scored the team’s touchdowns.
“We just run our offense and let it take care of itself,” said Neibert, the school’s career rushing leader. “So I really don’t care who gets it in.”
Baker, who led Seckman to a school record six wins this season, said he was sad to see the season end. But the Seckman head coach was upbeat about what the Jaguars accomplished and what
Lounsbury, who finished with 130 yards on 17 carries, was able to do in spite of his knee.
“I’ve been proud of this group all year,” Baker said. “I’ve spent the past three years with them, and never been more proud than what we were able to accomplish this season.
“We thought these kids were a little more motivated for this one, as opposed to the previous game against Fox. A little more confident, settled in, and ready to get after it.”
Fox travels to Jackson (10-0, No. 1 seed) on Friday to play in the district championship. The Indians have outscored their last three opponents 147-0.
“We are well aware that they are a very formidable opponent,” Tinker said. “If we can keep our offense going like it has been, and our defense can step up its game, I really like our chances.”