By Alec Eskin
This Saturday was the first playoff game for the Jaguars this year, against the Pennsbury Falcons. This game was a fun one to watch. It was supposed to be played on Friday night, but got pushed back a day due to threat of thunder and lightning, similarly to the Haverford game that had to be resumed on Saturday. In this game, the Jaguars beat the Falcons 49-14. This game going in was expected to be a close one; however, Garnet Valley dominated the whole game. After the 1st quarter, GV was up 21-0 because of a quick start offense and three Pennsbury turnovers (One interception and two fumbles). Also, on the other side of the ball, the defense was able to get in the backfield and pressure the quarterback with ease. All night long, the Pennsbury quarterback was constantly rushed to throw the ball. Now, lets dive deeper into what happened on both sides of the ball . . .
First off, the offense had similar stats to what they had in the game against Upper Darby. They had whatever they wanted on the ground with 466 yards on 55 carries (About 8.47 yards per carry). Also, the Jags got 22 first downs, 18 passing yards, 484 total yards, and the offense had two fumbles, but did not lose any. Whenever the offense did not had any turnovers, they have historically been shown to have dominated the game. In the aforementioned games, they have won with scores of 39, 28, 49, 28, 46, and 35. Once again, the offense got off to a quick start, they were able get 21 points in the first quarter, and put the game out of reach very quickly. Next, the offensive line was able to make a lot of space for the running backs and had good pass protection as well. What Garnet Valley did on offense in the game was use a lot of quick running plays that would get them 4-5 yards and take a long time to complete the drive. The goal of this was to be able to keep Pennsbury’s offense off of the field and not to give them many opportunities. The offensive line was a big part of the Jaguars being able to execute that plan efficiently. Now, let see what the defense was able to accomplish . . .
The defense held the Falcons, to 14 points, 19 first downs, 170 rushing yards, 128 passing yards, and forced three turnovers. In this game, the offense would not have been able to put up as many points at that speed without the help of the defense. The Garnet Valley defense was able to force three turnovers and two turnovers in Pennsbury’s territory. Going into the game, I heard that Pennsbury had a huge offensive line. But, Garnet Valley was able to counter that with their athleticism on defense that showed on Friday night. Garnet Valley seem like they had some kind of pressure on every play during the game. I foten saw Pennsbury;s QB, Drew Hensor, running away from someone, throwing the ball off of his back foot, or rushing the throw. Lastly, Garnet Valley was able to make that offense throw the ball more.. The game was 21-0 at the end of the first quarter, but because the Falcons, were already so far behind, they were forced to throw the ball hoping that one time they would get a big play. But, the Jaguars defense did not give that up.
Next week, the Garnet Valley Jaguars will face Quakertown in the 2nd round of the PIAA district one playoffs. This time though, if weather holds up, this game will be played on Friday night at 7:00 PM. This game is against a team that was able to upset a very good Perkiomen Valley team. Garnet Valley will have its hands full against Quakertown, this should make for a close and exciting football game.