ST. HENRY — St. John’s struggled to get any offensive rhythm going in its opener versus Lima Central Catholic a week ago, only gaining 86 yards.
The Blue Jays did show improvement Friday night against St. Henry in the Midwest Athletic Conference opener at Wally Post Athletic Complex, compiling 208 yards.
It was the dreaded turnover bug — 5 of them — that did the blue and gold in this time, falling to the defending Division V champions 14-7.
“You can’t have five turnovers when you’re struggling offensively. That was the story of the game,” Jays coach Todd Schulte said. “Overall, my gut feeling is that we showed improvement in a lot of areas. We just made too many of those crucial mistakes that cost us; we shot ourselves in the foot.”
They did on their first series, driving from the 21 to the Redskin 36. However, a holding penalty (4 for 40) ended up hurting their chances and a Wes Ulm (6-for-20 passing, 109 yards, 4 picks, 1 TD) incompletion ended the drive on downs.
It also cost them on the next possession; Corey Puthoff picking off an Ulm aerial and returning it 24 yards to the Blue Jay 41. Five plays later at the 15, fullback Brent Prenger took a trap up the gut, broke tackles at the line and bolted for the end zone. Todd Brophy’s extra point put the hosts (2-0, 1-0 MAC) up 7-0 with 11 ticks left in the first period.
“We weren’t as sharp or as ready to go mentally as we were last week. We weren’t ready for a St. John’s team that was going to be tough and physical,” St. Henry coach Jeff Starkey noted. “Our defense did a nice job of getting the turnovers we needed to help us overcome that lack of emotion. It’s how we practiced all week.”
Puthoff grabbed his second pick on the very next play from scrimmage, returning it 15 yards to the Blue Jay 29. They garnered a first down but a holding call (5 for 52) stymied their effort and a Tony Reindel sack of Brad Stahl (7-of-15 passing, 101 yards) on 4th-and-22 gave the Jays life at their 37.
They could do nothing with the pigskin and the hosts commenced on their 32. With sophomore tailback Neil Schwieterman (30 totes, 109 yards) doing the bulk of the work (6 rushes, 21 yards; 1 catch, 21 yards), the hosts needed 10 plays to score. At the Jays’ 1, Prenger busted inside left guard for the tally with 2:15 showing in the half. Brophy made the halftime score 14-0.
“Our defense did OK. They were just put in some tough situations with the short field,” Schulte added. “Again, we took one step forward and two steps back. We’ll take a look at the film and go back to the drawing board. We made some progress; we have to make a lot more.”
Ulm did it with his feet and arm to commence the third period. The Jays started at the 20 and drove the field in 10 plays. Ulm (20 rushes, 95 yards), ran seven times for 24 yards, including a 5-yard gain on a fake punt — he was the upback — to give the Jays (0-2, 0-1 MAC) a first down at their 48. From the Redskin 44, he was forced to scramble to his left and fired a perfect toss down the numbers to Jay Leininger. The junior hauled it in at the 10 and finished in the end zone. Jordan Rode’s point-after made it 14-7 with 7:00 left in the third.
Schwieterman returned the ensuing kickoff 85 yards to the house but an illegal block penalty nullified it.
Neither team could get anything going.
The Blue Jay defense rose up again after Caleb Stammen intercepted a tipped deep ball from Ulm at the Redskin 37 with 9:09 left. The hosts marched to the Blue Jay 10 in eight plays but Schwieterman was thrown for a 2-yard loss and on fourth down, after Starkey had called time, Stahl threw into the right flat, where Drew Hilvers intercepted and returned it to the Jays’ 29.
Ulm hit Brad Hoffman (2 grabs, 35 yards) for a quick 26 yards but on the next play, he fumbled trying to  get extra yards and Shawn Dues recovered at the host 34.
St. John’s got the ball back at their 30 with 1:35 left. Trying to rally, first Ulm was sacked by Mark Thobe for an 8-yard loss. He then was picked off for the third time by Puthoff at the 34 with 1:05 left.
St. John’s had all three timeouts left but when the hosts garnered a first down, that effectively sealed the deal.
“When you face a spread offense, the quarterback is the key. Ulm is a tough, hard-nosed runner who will get nothing but better, just like Brad,” Starkey added.
The Jays open their home season Friday versus Parkway. St. Henry hits the road to Marion Local.