On Friday, No. 8 Blackwell defeated No. 1 Jayton in a race toward a state championship.
The athleticism throughout the game remained competitive in this regional matchup, but Blackwell prevailed 62-58.
With Blackwell on the board first, Jayton’s senior running back Aaron Hernandez took one to the house to tie the game up at 8-8. It wasn’t long before Blackwell’s Michael Lowry scored a touchdown to take a 14-8 lead, but Tye Scogin followed with a score of his own to put Jayton up 16-14.
With a competitive second quarter, each team only scored once going into halftime with a tied ball game, 22-22.
Opening the third quarter, Blackwell’s Lowry punched another touchdown in to take the 30-22 lead. Scogin followed with a Jayton touchdown to tie the game again at 30-30. After a huge sack from Blackwell’s Brendan Scott, the Hornets gained momentum and put up 16 unanswered points to close out the third quarter.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Jayton’s Hernandez scored to cut Blackwell’s lead to a single possession, but Blackwell’s Lowry found Scott in the end zone to have another 16-point lead.
Jayton’s Caleb Valerio cut Blackwell’s lead to one score again with a long touchdown pass to junior wide receiver Tripp Scott.
Cameron Coldiron jumped a defender and ran in another Blackwell touchdown only for a another Jayton touchdown from Tripp Scott to cut the Hornet’s lead in half for a third time. With one final shot at taking over the game, Jayton attempted an onside kick, but failed.
Blackwell (15-0) will face Motley County (10-3) Friday at Knox City in a semifinal matchup. Kickoff is set for 6:30 p.m.
