The reigning back-to-back champs faced Shalhevet in a home matchup to kick off the season. Senior Jonah W. booted the ball, and the 2019 campaign was underway.

Despite the hype coming off last year, the Jaguars got off to a slow start. The offense couldn’t get moving. The Jaguars showed off an “air raid” offense and kept attempting to throw it deep. In fact, starting running back Jonah W. finished the game with zero carries.

However, the team is young, and sophomore dual-threat quarterback Jesse S. got off to a rocky start in his first career game at QB. His running ability looked promising, but the Jaguar offense committed two turnovers, including an interception in the end zone.

Even though the offense exhibited poor play, the defense was spectacular, forcing many three-and-outs. Jesse S. showed off his speed on the D-Line and got to the quarterback many times for a loss. He had four tackles , along with two sacks. Ethan M. had two sacks as well, and Ryan K. put up a great defense effort with eight total tackles– leading the team. Despite the poor play by the offense, the defense kept them in the game and the Jaguars only found themselves down 7-0 at the half. 

By the third quarter, the offense finally started to get moving with senior Yarden L. under center (3-4, with 2 TD passes). The Jaguars tied the game on an Evan R. touchdown (2 rec. with 1 TD). Evan R. got hit on an out route from the left and made a great run after catch for a long touchdown. The Jaguars tied the game 7-7. After that, the offense didn’t do much, but the defense continued its superb play. The Jaguars forced overtime. 

Flag football uses college rules, so each team started from the 20 yard line. The Jaguars stopped Shalhevet on their first drive of overtime and thus got a drive from the 20 to win. 

On the first play on offense, Yarden L. ran for 18 yards. This put the Jaguars in a great position: 2nd and goal on the 2 yard line. Both the defense and audience were on their feet expecting a Jonah W. run, but instead it was a quick shot gun pass to tackle, Brennan R. As Brennan R.  turned around, the Yarden L. pass landed on his shoulder and he squeezed it for the touchdown. Everyone ran the field, including fans.

The Jaguars beat Shalhevet, 13-7. The win was not pretty, but the Jaguars had to replace many key players from last year on both sides of the ball including starting QB Sam K. With that, the team shows talent and potential to continue to develop and look for another championship run and nonetheless are 1-0.