The Boylan Titans outlasted Jefferson 20-14 on a warm evening at Titan Stadium. The J-Hawks' defense was strong all night, but ball security was an issue on offense in the second half.
Jefferson is still searching for its first victory of the season but showed it is ready to compete in the NIC-10 this year.
Second year head coach Cody Casazza was proud of the way his team stuck together. "It was such a team effort," Casazza said. "I'd love to just shout out the whole team and their relentless effort, and playing with zero fear."
Boylan struck first on a 17-yard touchdown pass to Alex Hernandez. After a missed extra point attempt, Jefferson drove to the Boylan 35 with under 30 seconds remaining in the first half. Senior quarterback Sebastian Bracius found Michael Townsend in the end zone from the 25-yard line, but the play was called back due to a holding penalty, and the half ended 6-0.
Hernandez scored again to start the third quarter, taking the opening kickoff back for a touchdown, putting Boylan up 13-0.
The J-Hawks responded with a long, six-minute drive. On second and goal from the 19, Bracius scrambled through pressure to connect with Townsend, and this time the play counted for six.
Jefferson forced a punt on the next drive, but Townsend fumbled while trying to pick up the bouncing kick.
Boylan did not hold onto the ball for long. Bracius, who plays middle linebacker on defense, intercepted a first-down pass over the middle of the field, kick-starting another extended scoring drive. The drive was capped off by a 12-yard touchdown run by Lashawn Gathright, who fought through traffic up the middle. Gathright also scored on the two-point conversion to give Jefferson its first lead of the night.
The J-Hawks forced a punt with seven minutes remaining in the game, but Boylan recovered a fumble on third down inside the Jefferson 10-yard line.
Who else but Hernandez? He scored his third touchdown of the night on a 7-yard run to reclaim the lead.
Michael Townsend returned the kickoff all the way to the Titan 38-yard line, and the J-Hawks took a shot at the end zone on the first play. The ball was intercepted at the 1-yard line, forcing Jefferson to play defense one more time.
The J-Hawks forced another punt with just over two minutes left to play and took over at their own 39-yard line. After failing to pick up a first down on the first three plays, Bracius made a desperation pass attempt for the end zone that floated too high for his receiver to grab.
Jefferson will continue its hunt for a first victory next week at home against the Harlem Huskies on Thursday night at Wyeth Stadium.