Boyd’s long TD run, Millard’s pick 6 power Eagles

By Steve Ruman

sports@vindy.com

WARREN

In summing up Saturday’s game between Warren JFK and Steubenville Catholic Central, Eagles coach Jeff Bayuk reverted to a quote told to him by his former mentor.

“Dick Angle used to always tell me your ugliest win is better than your prettiest loss,” Bayuk said. “I’ll always take an ugly victory.”

Then again, ugly is in the eye of the beholder.

For those who like defense, Warren JFK’s 14-0 home win over the Crusaders was a thing of beauty.

Warren JFK used a pair of big second quarter plays — one by its defense — to lift its record to 5-0.

The first game-changer came with 8:41 left in the first half. With both clubs struggling offensively, Warren JFK got on the board when Joe Millard picked off a pass and returned it 19 yards to the end zone.

Following a three-and-out by SCC (1-4), Warren JFK struck again — this time on a 71-yard run by Evan Boyd.

That was it for the scoring, but it was more than enough for the Eagles’ defense which limited the Crusaders to just 15 total yards of offense (14 passing, 1 rushing).

In five games, the Eagles have outscored opponents 148-7. The lone touchdown was given up in Week 3 against Girard.

“We knew coming in we were going to have difficulties moving the ball on them as quick as they are, and that was the case,” Crusaders coach Steve Daley said. “We’ve not faced a defense like this. We’ve been able to move the ball on everybody we played this year, but [Warren JFK] is different.”

“They bring pressure every down, and their quickness is the difference. Even when it looks as though you have a seam like we did a few times tonight, they close it off awful fast.”

The Eagles didn’t exactly struggle offensively the entire night. Boyd finished the game with 144 rushing yards on 22 carries. The Eagles finished with 246 yards of total offense, but they did hurt themselves with eight penalties and four turnovers.

“Every time we got something going, we shot ourselves in the foot in some way, and that’s been uncharacteristic of us all year,” Bayuk said. “I really had a bad feeling in pregame that we weren’t ready, that I didn’t get them ready this week, and we even had an extra day of preparation.

“I have to do a better job of getting the kids ready to play, and we have to eliminate the mistakes we made tonight. But make no mistake about it, Steubenville Catholic played a part in that. Defensively, they are very stout up front.”

The Crusaders weren’t able to cross midfield until the 2:44 mark of the third quarter. They eventually moved down to the JFK 22, but a quarterback sack moved them back to the 30, then on the following play they turned the ball over on a fumble.

SCC penetrated Warren JFK territory again midway through the fourth, but turned the ball over on downs at the 39.

“I can’t say enough about our defense,” Bayuk said. “On the [Millard] interception for the touchdown, we practiced that play all week long. We jumped into a different coverage there, and he did it perfectly. That was a huge score for us because we were struggling offensively.”

Warren JFK will look to remain perfect next Friday when it hosts Garfield Heights Trinity.