In a very important game for both teams the Pope John Paul II Jaguars handed the Springfield Bulldogs a devastating 24-0 loss at Springfield’s Dog Pound to maintain their overall record of 5-2 and an unblemished mark of 2-0 in District 9-2A play.

Springfield drops to 2-5 overall and 0-3 in league play.

The Jaguars played possibly their best overall game of the season. They had no turnovers, led in all statistical categories and were never threatened.

Timmy Turner

“This was a big win for us,” said first-year PJP coach Mark Jeanmard. “We had no turnovers and our defense played fantastic.”

The Bulldogs on the other hand had a dismal evening. Their offense committed four turnovers and never did get on track.

It was anyone’s game in the first half. Both teams struggled to mount any sort of offense and defense was the name of the game. But at 5:28 of the first period Pope’s Timmy Turner intercepted Bulldog quarterback Kevin Henderson’s pass to set up the Jaguars’ offense at midfield. Five plays later, Ross Macaluso scampered 13 yards to open the scoring. Pope John Paul kicker James Cousin made it 7-0 with only 3:48 left in the first quarter.

The second quarter saw some outstanding defense displayed by both teams that kept the score, 7-0 at halftime.

The third quarter saw no scoring thanks to a fumble recovery by Pope John Paul’s Andrew Morse. Springfield had mounted their best drive of the night, but lost the fumble on the Jaguars’ 16-yard line.

PJP capitalized on the turnover by going 84 yards on 16 plays to score again. This time it was a 2-yard plunge by Macaluso with 10:12 left in the game. Cousin’s successful PAT gave PJP a commanding 14-0 cushion.

Springfield committed their third turnover on the next series this time coming on a fumble by Darron McKigney. Pope John Paul’s Cory Davis picked up the ball and ran it all the way to the Springfield 6-yard line. The Jaguars’ offense stalled thanks to some tough defense by Bulldogs Tony Patrick, Corey Hughes and Dallas Laurent. PJP was forced to try a 20-yard field goal, which turned out to be a chip shot for Cousin to increase the score to 17-0.

The last score of the game came with only 1:45 left in the contest. Tommy Gritten caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Nathan Hewitt to put the finishing touches on a 24-0 blasting of the host Bulldogs. 

With time ticking down PJP’s Tyler Lusignan pulled down another Henderson pass for the fourth Springfield miscue on the night. Hewitt then took a knee to run out the clock.

Springfield could only manage 97 total yards on the night. Their 11 carries on the ground netted them a negative six yards and two fumbles while their passing game was 5-of-18 for 103 yards and two interceptions. PJP racked up 177 rushing yards on 51 carries and hit on 3-of-7 in the air for 73 yards. Macaluso led all rushers with 27 carries for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

On defense the Jags were relentless. Bobby Mayfield, Joel Price and Lusignan did a number on the Bulldog offense. 

 “You have to hand it to them,” said losing Bulldog coach Ryan Serpas. “They have a good defense that gave us fits all night. Those four turnovers really hurt us and have all year. They are a fine team.”

PJP coach Jeanmard summed up the night for Pope John Paul saying, “We are very proud of this team. Thanks to some great play, we have pitched four shutouts this season.”

Jeanmard also said his coaching staff has done a great job this year.