Extra Points Are Key to Success

Sometimes it is the little things in life that are so important. In the case of the I-35 JV football squad, extra points meant the difference between sending the visiting Mt. Ayr Raiders home happy or dejected. Winning by the score of 16 to 13, the JV Roadrunners were able to set a winning tone for a homecoming week featuring four home football games and a home volleyball match along with coronation and a parade.
With less than two minutes left in the contest, the Roadrunners were up by three points but were forced to punt from their half of the field. Freshman punter Wyatt Davenport was able to punt the ball away to a very speedy Raider return man. The returner jabbed to his left, then went right to find a seam. He did and cruised passed numerous Roadrunner tacklers for the score that would put the Raiders up for good. Two or three blue jerseyed Roadrunnners laid dejected on the field while Mt. Ayr celebrated a come from behind win. However, one of the Roadrunners on the field was put there by a block in the back which brought the play back and dashed the hopes of Mt. Ayr. The visiting Raiders put the ball in the air numerous times, but were thwarted in their attempt to pull out a thrilling come from behind victory.
The Interstate offense clicked when it needed to behind the powerful running of fullbacks Jonathan "Rollie" Young and Hunter Wearmouth and the slick escape ability of tailbacks Joe Bedwell and Travis Yossett. Besides the powerful running game, the Roadrunners went to the air a few times with Kenneth Thompson and freshman Wade Hood. Hood took the reigns for the second half and was able to pass for the second and much needed two-point conversion on Interstate's second touchdown when he connected on a streak pass with Chase Ferris.
The Mt. Ayr offense spent much of the night trying to use their speed to get to the outside and capitalized on a few Interstate miscues on containment. The Raiders were eventually penned in by the help of down lineman Bobby Heilman and Lonnie Harper who recorded numerous stops for loss in the backfield. At the end of the contest, the secondary came up big knocking down numerous passes.
The win gave the JV team their third of the season as their record stands at 3-1.