In the team huddle immediately following Friday’s 24-0 win at Luverne, Jackson County Central assistant football coaches Wade Wacker and Jay Moore talked about perseverance and overcoming obstacles.
That applied to a number of Huskies wearing rain-soaked, muddy and in some cases paint-covered jerseys and senior cornerback-wide receiver Travis Rogoztke was high on the list.
He took a helmet to his ankle late in JCC’s season opener at Maple River. The ankle was swollen throughout the week, so his status for Friday’s game was uncertain.
It was determined Friday that he would be able to play.
Jackson County Central took a 7-0 lead when the Huskies’ other corner, Brenan Runge, intercepted a pass and turned into a 20-yard Pick Six. Alvaro Gonzalez Garcia kicked the extra point.
The Huskies forced the Cardinals into a three-and-out, but Rogotzke was not able to field the punt cleanly and Luverne had the ball on the JCC 39-yard line.
The Cardinals moved the ball into the Red Zone but JCC was able to keep Luverne off the scoreboard with Rogotzke making a big fourth down play to stop the drive, with the Huskies starting on their own five-yard line.
JCC would then go 95 yards to score with Roman Voss going in from two yards out. Garcia again added the PAT and the Huskies had a 14-0 lead.
The big play on that drive was a 30-yard pass from Voss to Rogotzke as the Huskies picked up a first down on a third-and-eight play.
“That corner is kind of short for taller dudes,” said Rogotzke, who is listed at 6-foot-3. “And that was a nice throw by Roman.”
JCC Coach Tom Schuller said Rogotzke was a big factor in the win, the second straight on the road to start the season.
“Travis didn’t practice all week so he was a game time decision and he was able to go and made a couple of really big plays,” Schuller said.
“The fourth and five in the end zone going up battling number one (Gannon Ahrendt) and breaking that play up was one of the plays of the game. And then he caught a big fade out of our own end when we got backed up and he got about a 30-yard gain that really got us out of trouble and we ended up with a 95-yard drive on that series. That really had a big impact on the game that we were able to stop them and then drive and score. We were in pretty good control of the game at that point.”
Jackson County Central led 14-0 at halftime.
In the third quarter, Aiven Farmer recovered a Luverne fumble on the Cardinals’ 29-yard line and the Huskies would go in to score with Gabe Wolff going in from six yards out. Garcia tacked on the extra point.
JCC’s final points came on a 25-yard field goal by Garcia.
The Huskies defense limited the Cardinals to only 81 yards offense (63 rushing and 18 passing). JCC had 207 yards on the ground 79 in the air for 286 yards.
Wolff was the leading rusher with 102 yards on 20 carries. Voss was 4-for-12 passing. Four different Huskies caught one pass apiece.
“We had some people step up,” Schuller commented. “We had to juggle a few things. We didn’t know if Lumpy (lineman Cameron Scholten) was going to play or not. It was a game time decision and it was a no go. That meant we played Kris Altmann at guard the whole game so that decreased his reps on the defensive line.
“We really were raring to see Myles Sathoff play the ‘mike’ linebacker so we could play Caleb Vancura a little more DT so we could have more of our better athletes on the field at the same time and that worked well.”
Jackson County Central has its home opener Friday, hosting Blue Earth Area in a 7 p.m. game at Swearingen Field. The Buccaneers are also 2-0.
SOUTH CENTRAL SILVER DISTRICT
Standings
Jackson County Central 0-0
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 0-0
Pipestone Area 0-0
Redwood Valley 0-0
Windom Area 0-0
District games only
Friday, Sept. 9
Jackson County Central 24, Luverne 0
Blue Earth Area 51, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 12
Maple River 53, Windom 6
Pipestone Area 34, Worthington 10
Norwood Young America 30, Redwood Valley 22
Thursday, Sept. 15
Windom Area at Luverne
Friday, Sept. 16
Blue Earth Area at Jackson County Central
LeSueur-Henderson at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial
Redwood Valley at Maple River
Sibley East at Pipestone
SECTION 3AA
Records
Jackson County Central 2-0
Minnesota Valley Lutheran 2-0
Pipestone Area 2-0
Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 0-2
Redwood Valley 0-2
St. James Area 0-2
Sibley East 0-2
Windom Area 0-2
Friday, Sept. 9
Jackson County Central 24, Luverne 0
Blue Earth Area 51, Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial 12
Maple River 53, Windom 6
Minnesota Valley Lutheran 26, St. James Area 12
Pipestone Area 34, Worthington 10
Norwood Young America 30, Redwood Valley 22
Saturday, Sept. 10
Tri-City United 35, Sibley East 14
Thursday, Sept. 15
Windom Area at Luverne
Friday, Sept. 16
Blue Earth Area at Jackson County Central
LeSueur-Henderson at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial
Martin County West at Minnesota Valley Lutheran
Redwood Valley at Maple River
St. James Area at New Ulm Cathedral
Sibley East at Pipestone
JCC football schedule
Thurs., Sept. 1 – at Maple River, W 30-27
Fri., Sept. 9 – at Luverne, W 24-0
Fri., Sept. 16 - Blue Earth Area, 7 p.m.
Fri., Sept. 23 – at Windom, 7 p.m.
Sat., Oct. 1 - Redwood Valley, 1 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 7 – at Lake Crystal Wellcome Memorial, 7 p.m.
Fri., Oct. 14 - Pipestone, 7 p.m.
Wed., Oct. 19 - St. Peter, 7 p.m.