Quick takeaways from Jonesville football's 22-21 barnburner victory at Hillsdale

HILLSDALE — In the 10th anniversary game of the Hillsdale vs. Jonesville cross county opener, the Jonesville Comets earned revenge against their Hornet rivals on the road in a 22-21 barnburner.

In a game that was decided by several big plays, there's plenty to dissect multiple stories. These are out first impressions on the important win for the Comets, which is only the second ever time bringing home "The Brown Jug" in the opener series' history.

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Big first half shows potential of both offenses

The Hornets, showing their versatile offense, showed off early chemistry between sophomore quarterback Evan Towne and senior first-year receiver Dominick Coke. At the end of the first quarter, Towne and Coke connected once for a first down pass and then followed it up with a 40-plus yard touchdown connection that put Hillsdale on top 15-8 in the second quarter.

The Comet offense had a similar big play from sophomore John Milks, who scored two first half touchdowns in different styled drives. The sophomore running back had multiple 100-yard games as a freshman, and he looked to hit that mark in Week 1 when he scampered to the end zone on a 45-yard touchdown. His other touchdown came on a goal line dive, capping off a methodical drive which ended up sealing a unique stat for the Comets. Jonesville did not throw a single pass attempt in the first half.

In the second half, big plays would come from the passing game for both teams. Skyler Cooper connected with Zander Goodwin on a Comet 28-yard touchdown pass to take the lead in the game. The ensuing two-point conversion attempt was good.

"The whole game plan was run, run, run," Jonesville coach Frank Keller said. "And I know we can throw the ball but was more of a game plan and we wanted to establish that run. We liked where we were, so we didn't try any pass attempts until the second half. Good thing we waited because they were huge when we did them."

For Hillsdale, they had a shot to take the lead with two minutes left in the game after an Evan Towne 86-yard passing touchdown to senior receiver Dominick Coke, most of those yards coming after-the-catch.

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Turnovers on both sides show Week 1 rust

While both offenses managed to find big plays, it was turnovers that proved crucial in both halves that decided the outcome of the game, something both teams will look to squash as they go on the road for Week 2 non-conference matchups.

For Hillsdale, three fumble recoveries gave their offense chances to bounce back. A first quarter fumble recovery by Wyatt Wahtola gave the Hillsdale offense much-needed short field, which turned into a Jace Lennox rushing touchdown to put Hillsdale on the board first.

At the end of the first half, with two minutes left, it was Zander Goodwin, DB for Jonesville, who corralled an interception off a pass from Hornet quarterback Evan Towne. That crucial interception stalled Hillsdale's attempt to put another touchdown on the board before the first half ended, and the potential to make it a two-possession game.

A fourth quarter flurry of turnovers would result in a back-and-forth exchange from both sides. A Jonesville fumble would give Hillsdale's offense a sign of life, however an interception later on, caught by senior Comet captain LB Carson Playford, would turn things in favor of Jonesville. A follow-up fumble would give Hillsdale the ball back, and that would lead to Hillsdale's final touchdown of the game.

Despite the turnovers, Jonesville coach Frank Keller was impressed with the defensive effort compared to last season, a point of emphasis from this summer that seems to be paying off early for the Comets.

"Overall, we did a lot better," Keller said. "We are a lot better than we were last year defensively. That was our whole offseason thing: get better on defense."

A game of inches

Sometimes, it comes down to the smallest details that decide the fate of teams on Friday night. For Hillsdale, a toe dragging catch attempt on a two-point conversion was the difference between going up by one with two minutes left or being down by one point with two minutes left.

On the ensuing Jonesville drive, with time ticking off the clock for Hillsdale and the Hornets needing to a stop of defense, senior Skyler Cooper got the ball on a quarterback keep to the right side of their formation to get a big first down and to seal the win for the Comets.

"He stayed positive, which is a huge step for Skyler," Keller said. "He made a lot of key plays for us today, and so did all the seniors, you know. This was for the seniors, and they did a great job."

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Week 2

Both teams showed us their offensive capabilities, and both teams also had turnovers and miscues on both sides of the ball that they will have to shake off if they want to beat two quality opponents on the road for their second games of the year.

Jonesville heads to Napoleon to take on a tough Pirates squad from the Cascades East. Hillsdale heads to Lake Fenton in a rematch of last year's Week 2 non-conference battle. Both opponents were playoff teams last year and battled for district titles.

"We are going to enjoy it," Keller said. "You know, we got a long weekend and come Sunday it's back and ready for Napoleon. We got Friday and Saturday to enjoy this. Sunday, we are going to prepare for Napoleon."

This article originally appeared on Hillsdale Daily News: Quick takeaways from Jonesville football's 22-21 barnburner victory at Hillsdale