Last night, the Shepherd Blue Jays opened their season with a 20-6 win over the Alma Panthers in a battle for US-127. The two schools are only a 15 minute drive down 127 from one another and it showed with the turnout.
Both schools relied on their rushing attack on the night, but it was Shepherds old-school pro style offense that came out on top in the contest. The Blue Jays dominated the time of possession and accounted for two 100 yard rushers on the night in Alex Evans and Ty Burns. Alex Evans was the top performer on the evening, rushing for over 100 yards and scoring twice, while also accounting for some of Shepherd’s best defensive stops on the night.
QB Mason Eisenberger impressed for Shepherd as well, playing his role as a game manager QB in-rhythm through the air. Shepherd’s scheme allowed for some successful play-action balls, and Eisenberger was on time throughout the night beyond a hiccup at the goal line as the first half was expiring.
On Alma’s side, it’s not a secret that Penn Seeley is the best athlete on the field, and his rushing stats prove it on the night as he ran for over 120 yards and a touchdown. The issue will be Alma’s passing game. Seeley has a big arm, but accuracy is a spot of growth for him, and receivers didn’t do him any favors. If he can improve upon that he can be a top player in the area. Beyond that, there wasn’t much else offensively for Alma. They finished with around 160 yards of total offense with Seeley accounting for most of it.
It felt like watching an old school contest, with defenses playing just as big of a part in the outcome. Shepherd forced a turnover and had a stop inside the five yard line. Alma forced two goal line turnovers themselves, including an interception on a goal line out route as the half was expiring. Seeley had one of the best defensive plays of the game when he collided with Ty Burns at Alma’s one yard line, perfectly hitting the football with his shoulder pad and jarring the ball loose before the goal line.
Both programs look like they should have some improvements this year, and it will be interesting to see how Shepherd competes moving forward with their running game looking rock solid.
