The Spartans went three-and-out on their first drive, while Jersey Village struck fast with a 52-yard TD run. After made PAT, Jersey Village led early 7-0. And that would be all they would get.

Stratford’s offense again struggled on their next drive, turning the ball over on downs at the Jersey Village 47-yard line. Stratford’s defense immediately stepped up with a 7-yard tackle for loss by Ty Greene. Elliott Young then followed with a nice pass breakup down the field. Westy Bennett and Jackson Fulweber both got into the act with a QB sack that snuffed out the Jersey Village drive. The Jersey Village punter then mishandled the snap and the ball was recovered by Sam Fields at the JV 29.

Stratford was in prime position and moved the ball on the ground for nice gains by Deamone Harris. A personal foul by the JV defense then moved the ball to the 10-yard line. The teams switched ends as the second quarter began, and Stratford immediately punched it into the end zone with a 7-yard Deamone Harris TD run. 2-point conversion was no good and the Spartans trailed 7-6.

Stratford’s defense again stuffed the JV offense, forcing a 3-and-out, keyed by a tackle for loss by Nate Edwards. After a JV punt, the Spartans got the ball at their own 40. But Stratford couldn’t move the ball and was forced to punt. Ryan White recovered a muffed punt return at the JV 49 and Stratford immediately got the ball back. The back-and-forth continued as Stratford again went 3-and-out and was forced to punt yet again. The snap to Fulweber sailed over his head, and Jersey Village was in business at the Stratford 22-yard line.

With their backs to the wall, the Spartan defense answered the call. Reayon Harris had a nice open-field tackle, and White had a pass break-up in the end zone on 3rd down. Jersey Village elected to kick a field goal. Harris again made a nice play with a blocked kick that was recovered at the Stratford 19-yard line. But the Spartan offense again struggled. After a 9-yard run by Deamone Harris to pick up a first down, Stratford was again forced to punt.

Jersey Village started their next drive at their own 43-yard line and decided to throw the ball to the side with Stratford’s stand-out cornerback, Elliott Young. Young came down with the interception on a long ball at the Spartan 23. Young would have two more for the night.

Deamone Harris then ripped off runs of 30 yards and 7 yards, but the Spartans ran out of time. The half ended on a botched trick play by the Spartans. The teams went to half time with Jersey Village holding on by a narrow margin 7-6.

Jersey Village received the second-half kick and started to move the ball on offense, keyed by a long pass to the Stratford 30-yard line. But a holding call and a tipped pass by Ty Greene caused the drive to stall, and JV turned it over on downs at the Stratford 33. After some nice runs by Harris and a defensive holding call, the Spartan offense was on the move. But the offense again turned it over on downs to give the ball back at the JV 30-yard line.

Jersey Village went 3-and-out and a bad snap on the punt had the punter scrambling. Sam Fields again made a nice special-teams play by tackling the punter at the Jersey Village 23-yard line. Stratford immediately struck with a 23-yard touchdown run by Deamone Harris, with a key block on the play by Isaac Young. Harris punched in the 2-point conversion and there was no looking back for the Spartans, who took the lead 14-7.

The Spartan defense again stepped up, keyed by a tackle for loss by Benton Byrd and a second interception by Elliott Young. Stratford had it at their own 45 after the interception return and went to work. The offensive line pounded the JV defense, enabling Deamone Harris to rip off runs of 14, 15, and 19 yards on the drive. Harris then punched it in from 4 yards out for his second touchdown of the game. After a missed 2-pt conversion, the Spartans were in control 20-7.

After a nice Reayon Harris tackle on the kick return, Jersey Village had the ball at their own 34. Elliott Young had a pass breakup, but it was Field’s turn to get an interception at the Spartan 38. The Stratford offense again moved the ball with solid gains on the ground by D. Harris and a 16-yard swing pass to R. Harris. But the drive stalled at the JV 14.

But Jersey Village didn’t have the ball long. Elliott Young came up with his third interception of the evening and returned it 11 yards to the JV 3-yard line. John Briggs then snuck it in to the end zone for the score. 2-pt conversion was no good, and the Spartans had a commanding lead 26-7.

Stratford’s defense was solid on JV’s last possession of the game, keyed by two QB sacks by Callan Kirk. Time ran out on Jersey Village and the Spartans prevailed 26-7.

Game notes: Deamone Harris finished the game with over 200 yards rushing and 2 touchdowns. Elliott Young had 3 interceptions and 2 pass break-ups. Both capped off outstanding seasons.