Jaguars save best for last in comeback win over North

In a game full of big plays, it was the Westmoore Jaguars that made the biggest ones late, completing a second-half comeback to defeat Norman North 28-17.

North took a 17-7 lead into the locker room, but couldn’t generate any offense after starting quarterback Peyton Gavras went out early in the second quarter with symptoms of a concussion.

The injury came with about six minutes left in the quarter and North at the Westmoore seven-yard line. Gavras was hit hard on a designed quarterback run and got up slowly. He trotted toward the sideline before slumping to the ground. After being tended to by team doctors, Gavras left the field on his own, but didn’t return to the sideline in the second half.

Backup Chad Ehrhart replaced Gavras and threw a touchdown on a fade route to Trey Wormington with 16 seconds left in the first half, but was unable to garner significant yardage in the second as the Timberwolves failed to get inside the Jaguars’ red zone again. Gavras finished the game 9-of-13 for 131 yards and a touchdown, and Ehrhart went eight-of-19 for 57 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions.

“There are some things that Peyton does better than Chad and some that Chad does better than Peyton, and we changed our gameplan a little for that,” coach Wade Standley said after the game. “We had to cut down on a few things and tweak the offense a little bit.”

It was a game of long passes and missed opportunities for North. The Timberwolves completed three passes of 27 yards or more, but they also dropped several open passes, including a flea flicker that would have easily gone for a touchdown while North was trailing 21-17 in the fourth quarter.

They also failed to capitalize on three first-half interceptions, two by DJ Hicks, scoring just once off of the turnovers. Westmoore also hurt themselves by committing 12 penalties for 104 yards.

“We had to stop giving up big plays and getting penalties in that second half, and we were able to do that,” Westmoore coach Billy Langford said. “Any win is a good win and we’ll take it with a smile.”

Running back Austin Richards led the Jaguars with 161 yards rushing on 24 carries, including a 63-yard touchdown run.

The Timberwolves jumped out early against the Jaguars, moving the ball mostly through the passing game, including several spectacular grabs by North receivers. Their first touchdown was set up when receiver Corbin Cleveland jumped up from behind the Jaguar defender and pulled down the 32-yard pass right in front of his face. Likewise, Redford Jones’ 26-yard field goal in the second quarter was set up when receiver Jake Higginbotham hauled a 35-yard bomb in the middle of double coverage.

But it was Westmoore that made the big plays late, including converting a fourth-and-one from the North 31 that led to the go-ahead touchdown. And on a third-and-goal from the three-yard line, receiver Dalton Craig leapt high over a North defender on a pass to the back of the endzone to put the finishing touches on the Jaguar victory.

“It was a hard-fought game between two good football teams,” Standley said. “But what truly matters is that we’re zero and zero in district play just like everyone else. Our goal is to compete for a district championship and that’s what matters more than this game, whether we won or lost tonight.”