A wild win for JC

In a contest that featured 11 touchdowns, 75 total points and nearly 1,000 yards total offense, the biggest play of the game came on defense.

Si Tanka-Huron quarterback Keldric Stokes, looking to tie the game late in the fourth quarter, dropped back on first-and-goal from the Jamestown College 5-yard line. He took a quick look at his receivers and scrambled to his right, aiming for the corner of the end zone.

But just before he reached the goal line, Jimmie defensive back Jerome Jacobs knocked the ball free. It bounced into the end zone and out of bounds. The touchback gave the Jimmies the ball, and they were able to run out the clock on a 41-34 Dakota Athletic Conference victory over the Screaming Eagles Saturday at Rollie Greeno Field.

"It was a wild one," said JC head coach Tom Dosch, whose team won its third straight DAC-10 contest. "You have to respect winning. We didn't get any style points today, but we scored more than they did."

Both teams dominated parts of the game. The Jimmies looked like they were on their way to a rout early, scoring 20 points in the first quarter and leading 27-0 late in the first half.

Si Tanka-Huron got on the board with less than a second to go before the intermission on a Hail Mary pass, and after trailing 34-7 in the third quarter, Stokes and the explosive Screaming Eagles offense got on a roll, reeling off 27 straight points to tie the game at 34-34 with 8:58 remaining.

"We had a number of opportunities to score more points," Dosch said. "We threw an interception in the end zone, we missed a field goal ... I've been in some wild games before and I know that every point counts."

The Jimmies took advantage of a blocked STU-Huron punt (one of two kicks Jamestown College blocked on the day) to get off to a fast start, scoring on their first play from scrimmage on a Jason Baca touchdown pass to Cory Urban from 20 yards out two minutes into the game.

Baca, who completed 15 of 30 passes for 232 yards and four touchdowns, added a 17-yard scoring strike to Eddie Renteria to make it 14-0, and Jake Morrison scored on a 20-yard draw play to make it 20-0 with just over five minutes left in the first period.

Early in the second quarter, Baca connected with tight end Brandon Lemer on a 9-yard TD pass for a 27-0 lead.

"Our first quarter and a half, we really played about as well as we could," Dosch said.

It stayed that way until the final play of the half. Stokes, in the grasp and nearly sacked, flung the ball down field into a crowd of players, including a couple of Jimmie defenders. The ball bounced in the air and came down to Huron wide receiver Kyle Allison for a 37-yard TD pass with 0.7 seconds on the clock.

"When you have a team down like that, if we score when we should have it's 34-0 at the half and it could have been over," Dosch said. "That play at the end of the half gave them momentum."

On the Jimmies' second possession of the third quarter, Baca finished a 62-yard, seven-play drive with a 30-yard scoring strike to Urban to make it 34-7 with 10:31 left in the period.

That's when Stokes and the Screaming Eagles got going.

Special teams sparked the rally, as Leon Hall returned a Jimmie punt 84 yards for a TD. Then Hall threw a halfback option pass to Brandon Flanders from 20 yards out to pull Huron within 34-21.

Stokes, directing a no-huddle, spread offense with multiple-receiver formations, began to move the ball with ease. He threw an 18-yard TD pass to Ismael Small and an 80-yarder to Flanders to tie the game at 34-34 with 8:58 left.

Stokes did much of the damage for the Screaming Eagles, playing without their top running back, Larry Aldridge, who was sitting out after being ejected from the game the week before. He completed 18 of 42 passes for 411 yards and rushed for a team-high 45 yards on 18 carries.

"He's an unbelievable talent," Dosch said. "They couldn't run the ball against us and they kind of abandoned that. They went to the spread and got the ball to their athletes.

"It's kind of a no-win situation because if you bring pressure, you leave people open. And if you drop back, he'll scramble around on you."

Si Tanka-Huron had all the momentum after the tying touchdown, but Jamestown College responded.

"They scored and we told them it's a tie game with nine minutes left and I still think we're a better team than they are - let's go prove it," Dosch said.

The Jimmies drove 63 yards in six plays, capped by a 10-yard touchdown run by Eric Dirk, to regain the lead with 6:44 left.

Both Dirk (101 yards on 27 carries) and Morrison (101 yards on 17 carries) ran for over 100 yards for the second straight week.

"Give our offense a ton of credit," Dosch said. "We were not playing well in the second half but we made some plays when it counted. We beat a very talented team."

Defensively, the Jimmies surrendered 514 yards total offense. But they made plays when they needed to. Jacobs, along with forcing a fumble to deny Stokes a game-tying touchdown on Huron's final possession, had seven tackles, including two for a loss, and one pass breakup. Jacobs also made a pair of big hits, one of which knocked Stokes out of the game for part of the first half.

Dan Stoudt made nine tackles and broke up one pass. Clint Whisler had six tackles, and Shaun Laird picked off a Stokes pass.

The Jimmies (3-2, 3-1 DAC-10) host league-leading University of Mary (5-0, 4-0) on Saturday in their homecoming contest.

Jamestown College 41, Si Tanka-Huron 34

Si Tanka-Huron 0 7 14 13 - 34

Jamestown College 20 7 7 7 - 41

First Quarter

JC-Cory Urban 20 pass from Jason Baca (Brandon Mueller kick), 13:00.

JC-Eddie Renteria 17 pass from Baca (Mueller kick), 10:55.

JC-Jake Morrison 20 run (pass failed), 5:07.

Second Quarter

JC-Brandon Lemer 9 pass from Baca (Mueller kick), 13:51.

STH-Kyle Allison 37 pass from Keldric Stokes (Juan Matta kick), 0:00.7.

Third Quarter

JC-Urban 30 pass from Baca (Mueller kick), 10:31.

STH-Leon Hall 84 punt return (Matta kick), 7:13.

STH-Brandon Flanders 20 pass from Hall (Matta kick), 1:29.

Fourth Quarter

STH-Ismael Small 18 pass from Stokes (kick failed), 12:15.

STH-Flanders 80 pass from Stokes (Matta kick), 8:58.

JC

Eric Dirk 10 run (Mueller kick), 6:44.

Team Totals

STH JC

First downs 22 22

Rushes-yards 32-83 51-223

Passing yards 431 232

Total offense 514 455

Comp-Att-Int 19-44-1 15-30-2

Punts-avg. 6-29.5 7-39.7

Fumbles-lost 1-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 7-37 9-77

Individual Statistics

RUSHING-STH, Keldric Stokes 18-45, Ismael Small 9-25, Kyle Dieckman 1-6, Leon Hall 1-5, Robert Lewis 1-4, Ernest Eaton 1-0, Kyle Allison 1-(minus-2). JC, Eric Dirk 27-101, Jake Morrison 17-101, Dan Holmen 1-23, Jason Baca 6-(minus-2).

PASSING-STH, Keldric Stokes 18-42-1, 411 yards; Leon Hall 1-1-0, 20 yards; Robert Lewis 0-1-0, 0 yards. JC, Jason Baca 15-30-2, 232 yards.

RECEIVING-STH, Leon Hall 7-170, Marquel Harrington 5-55, Brandon Flanders 4-152, Kyle Allison 2-36, Ismael Small 1-18. JC, Cory Urban 6-114, Eddie Renteria 3-19, Corey Rood 2-23, Brandon Lemer 2-16, Rob Hummel 1-44, Tyler Stowers 1-16.

INTERCEPTIONS-STH, John Davis. JC, Shaun Laird.

Records: Si Tanka-Huron 2-3, 2-2 DAC-10; Jamestown College 3-2, 3-1 DAC-10.

Sun Sports Editor Scott Throlson can be reached at (701) 252-3120 or by e-mail at sports@jamestownsun.com