Local Sports

United gets a good return vs. JFK

HANOVERTON -- United standout senior quarterback Tom Brown rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown and the Golden Eagles' defense had two tremendous red-zone stands, including one which ended in a pick six, and propelled the Golden Eagles to a 21-6 Division VI playoff win over visiting Warren JFK here Friday night.

 "It was a great win for our football program," said United coach DJ Ogilvie. "Especially with how we played -- we played very physical and we played smart and I'm very proud of this football program."

With the win, No. 6-seeded United, which won a record fourth straight Eastern Ohio Athletic Conference title this fall, is now 9-1 overall. It marked United's first playoff win since the 2023 campaign when the Golden Eagles beat Brookfield 24-14 in a first-round game in Hanoverton.

"It (getting a playoff win) feels great," said Brown, who said he prefers to be called Tommie Brown. "It's really well earned."

With the loss, Warren JFK concluded its season with a 6-5 record.

"We deserved to lose," said JFK coach Damon Buente. "I didn't have a good enough game plan on either side of the ball and United deserved to win the football game." 

With United clinging to a 7-6 lead and Warren JFK driving to the United 10-yard line late in the second quarter, the Golden Eagles' defense came up with the gem of the night.

Faced with a fourth down, JFK lined up for a 27-yard field goal but the kicker had to leave the field because he was not wearing knee pads.

So JFK decided to go for and the pass was intercepted by Kota Shasteen, who set sail down the left sideline on a 100-yard interception return for a touchdown. It turned what could have been a JFK lead into a two-possession United advantage at 14-6 with 5:44 left before halftime.

"When the referee told the kicker to get off (the field due to an uniform issue) and they went for it, I thought that might be a worse-case scenario, because they're going to get it and then score and I'd rather give up three than seven," said Ogilvie. "But Kota just made an unbelievable play (on the pick six. That was a huge swing."

Buente agreed.

"We couldn't kick a field goal there in the first half and then we throw an interception for a touchdown at the 10-yard line," said Buente. "Give credit where credit is due, that kid (Shasteen) made a phenomenal play and they took all the momentum into halftime because of that."

United's defense also had another defensive stand in the first half, turning JFK away at the the United 7-yard line.

"Oh, that was huge," said Ogilvie of the two key stops. "If they score (on the second red-zone stop on the pick six), it's a whole different ball game and we got the ball back with a two score lead and we got to eat the clock up a little bit. 

"Our linebackers played great," said Ogilvie. "Really, every kid on defense, I can't just single out one but they all played great. I mean to hold that team to six points, that takes a great team effort."

 "Those were very important stands because the score would have looked a lot different," said Brown. "They just stood up there and it changed the outcome of the game."

"You have to play all three phases really, really well in the playoffs because you and I both know that the playoffs are about turnovers and big plays," said Buente. "We had some costly turnovers and they had some big plays, so it kind of is what it is."

United's offense took a 7-0 lead on its opening possession of the game, marching 50 yards in just three plays, capped by a 4-yard scoring bolt over left guard by running back M'Kyan Haynes, who finished with 90 yards on 12 carries. Kicker Liam Jones added the PAT kick and the Golden Eagles led 7-0 at the 7:17 mark of the opening quarter.

But JFK answered with a first-quarter scoring drive of its own when the visitors drove 80 yards to find the end zone on a two-yard run by running back Nick Branca. The Eagles opted to go for two on the conversion but their attempt was stopped short and United kept a 7-6 lead at the 1:28 mark of the first quarter.

After stopping United on downs, JFK took over and marched to the Golden Eagles' 10-yard but that's when Shasteen's had his huge pick six. Liam Jones added the PAT and United took a 14-6 lead into the locker room at halftime.

"When you're on the road against a team that wins a lot of games at home it is extremely hard to overcome," said Buente.

Just three plays into the third quarter, the Golden Eagles added an insurance score when Brown eluded a JFK defender on a designed pass play and sprinted 40 yards down the left sideline to score. Jones added the PAT kick and the Eagles upped their lead to 21-6 at the 10:28 mark of the third quarter. 

"The play was designed to hit someone deep, so I just stepped outside the pocket and took off," said Brown.

The senior signal-caller says he takes a lot of pride in leading his team.

"Everyone looks up to me and I can get everyone motivated," said Brown.

"Tommie is a special player," said Ogilvie. "That's why he's the league player of the year."

As it turned out, Brown's score closed the scoring as United's defense pitched a second-half shutout against JFK.

Buente said JFK had a young team this season and the playoff experience will help his squad moving forward.

"We only had two seniors this year, so we have an extremely young team and in 11 games we played seven playoff teams," he said of JFK's challenging schedule. "Our schedule was loaded and we lost our quarterback for a month and I'm proud of the group, I really am."

Ogilvie says his team is looking forward to their Round II playoff matchup next Friday at Columbia Station, but their focus this week was solely on JFK

"We just worried about this week -- it's one week at a time when you're in the playoffs," he said.

GAME NOTES

Friday marked the first-ever meeting between United and Warren JFK in football.

However, the Golden Eagles played Warren St. Marys three times in the early 1960's before St. Marys became Warren JFK in 1964.




SCORING

JFK: 6-0-0-0-- 6

UNI: 7-7-7-0--21

SCORING

U --M'Kyan Haynes 4 run (Liam Jones kick)

JFK --Nick Branca 2 run (run failed)

U -- Kota Shasteen 100 interception return (Liam Jones kick)

U -- Brown 40 run (Liam Jones kick)

TEAM STATS

Warren JFK

First downs: 16; Total yards: 253; Rushes-yards: 37-148; Passing: 105; Comp-Att-Int. 11-16-0; Punts 2-31; Fumbles-Lost 1-0; Penalties-Yards 10-110.

United

First downs: 12, Total yards 228, Rushes-yards 30-214, Passing 14 Comp-Att-Int. 2-5-0, Punts 2-36, Fumbles-Lost 0-0, Penalties-Yards 4-40.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS

RUSHING -- Warren JFK, Alaric Howard, 17-96, Nick Branca, 15-41, Christian Dixie, 2-14, Jacob Liber, 2-2; United, M'Kyan Haynes, 12-90, Tom Brown, 13-103.

PASSING -- Warren JFK, Alaric Howard, 6-9-66-0-1, Jacob Liber, 5-7-49-0-0; United, Tom Brown, 2-5-14-0-0.   

RECEIVING --  Warren JFK, Jacoby Lankston, 5-49, Giovanni Valentino, 2-22, Christian Dixie, 3-42, Nick Branca, 1-0; United, Kota Chasteen, 1-3, M'Kyan Haynes, 1-11.