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Jets Soar in Second Half, Shoot Down Shenandoah

By NICK HENTHORN

Sports Editor

BELMONT - It took a little while for them to get off the runway, but the Union Local Jets steadily ascended Friday in their week one matchup against Shenandoah, turning a halftime deficit into a multi-score victory over the Zeps, 20-8.

"I felt that we were prepared," Jets head coach Bernie Thompson said. "We had a great offseason, worked extremely hard, but week one, you just never know. You never know how it's going to go, and I'm proud of the way we played."

Jets sophomore quarterback Colby Carpenter threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns, while freshman running back Brody Perzanowski rushed for 123 yards on 16 totes Friday.

Union Local benefited from big plays before their home crowd- four passing plays of 20+ yards, and nine running plays of 10+ yards- but Thompson says his team is carrying a blue-collar sentiment in the new season.

"This is going to be our M.O. this year," Thompson said. "Last year we scored a lot of points, this year it's going to be a workman-like attitude, we're going to show up and score one more point than the other team.

"Credit to Shenandoah, they are a well-coached team, their quarterback is dynamic, they've got athletes all over the field, gave us troubles, but I'm proud of the way we came out in the second half."

Shenandoah struck first Friday, Union Local forcing two third downs on the game's first drive, but the Zeps coming up with big plays in those situations, first a 27-yard pass to Weston Miley, then a 34-yard touchdown catch by Hunter Yates on a go-ball down the left sideline. After a successful two-point conversion, Shenandoah led 8-0 with 8:54 in the first.

While the Zeps offense exploded on the game's opening drive, their defense couldn't match that tone. Shenandoah bled free penalty yardage on defense, falling for Carpenter's hard count and moving Union Local down the field, with multiple encroachment calls and a hit in the back helping the Jets move to the Shenandoah eight yard-line.

From there, Carpenter connected with Billy Schumacher on a slant for six. The point after was blocked though, and with 4:12 to play in the second, Shenandoah held a slim 8-6 lead.

The first half ended with an identical score, both offenses hitting a rut. Shenandoah did not manage a single first down in the second quarter, while Union Local moved the ball but continually stalled out in the red zone. With time expiring in the second, Perzanowski appeared to break the plane on a five-yard run, but the officials ruled the spot of the ball inside the one yard-line. On an untimed down before both teams headed into the locker room, the Jets couldn't punch it in.

"Shenandoah gave us fits in the first half, played a lot of man coverage," Thompson said. "We got inside the red zone, but multiple times we got stopped, we had the ball at the one-inch line and didn't score. Credit to them for playing well and we came out executed well in the second half."

The second half indeed played out differently for the Jets, who started the half with a 20-yard run from Perzanowski and a 20-yard pass to senior wide out Gannon Kerns.

Kerns finished with 101 receiving yards on four catches.

Union Local seemed to fall flat in the red zone once again, losing a fumble inside the five, but after the defense held strong, Carpenter and the Jets quickly made up for their red zone stumble, Dre Saunders stretching out for a catch on a deep cross, staying on his feet, and speeding down the sideline for a 44-yard touchdown.

Union Local knocked through a PAT and led 13-8 with 4:12 to play in the third.

Saunders got hot in the second half, recording all 73 of his 97 receiving yards in the second half, and snagging the long touchdown.

Shenandoah had been unable to sustain a drive since the first quarter, and shifted their strategy in the second half, going from almost exclusively empty sets to employing a running back on most plays, but the Union Local defense was unfazed, shutting out the Zeps for three quarters.

"We've got to work on some things in our secondary. I know that was something that we struggled with last year," Thompson said. "Credit to them though, they made big plays when they needed to, I felt our secondary really tightened up in the second half and made some plays."

After forcing a punt, it was time to slow down the pace for the Jets, who let Perzanowski take carry after carry from the backfield, bleeding clock and moving the chains for Union Local. Union Local favored a stretch run play from the weak side during that time, running behind left tackle Nick Grobe and left guard Alex Beaver. During the sequence, Perzanowski recorded runs of 13, 14, 10, 14 and 15 yards consecutively.

"Running to the weak side a lot, the stretch play, backside, we knew we could capitalize on it in the second half and we did. It was one of those things where, if it ain't broke, don't fix it."

Perzanowski led the team in rushing, though it was senior Jake Toohey who started the game, playing both ways and finishing with 34 yards on the ground.

"We knew all along that [Perzanowski]'s going to be a player," Thompson said. "Jake Toohey started the game for us, he's one of our senior leaders, and we really needed him on defense. We've got a few guys who can really run the ball, but Brody was the hot hand there in the second half and we went with him."

Colby Carpenter put some distance between his team and Shenandoah with a 13-yard touchdown scramble at the four-minute mark, vaulting the Jets ahead 20-8, while the Union Local defense put the game under lock and key, Saunders and Schumacher each pulling down interceptions on the Zeps' last two drives.

Union Local next plays Buckeye Local on the road on Friday, Aug. 25.