Mooney’s money again for Jacobs
Jacobs believes every offensive possession should produce points.
That’s why the Golden Eagles used two timeouts on defense to get one final shot to score in the first half of their Fox Valley Conference football crossover with visiting Woodstock on Friday night in Algonquin.
They came up empty after getting the ball at their 39-yard line with only 36.6 seconds left. But the first-team offense scored on its other seven possessions and Jacobs (3-2) piled up 502 total yards to extend its winning streak to three games with a 43-21 victory.
“Our offense has the potential to score every time we get the ball,” Jacobs senior quarterback Bret Mooney said after hitting 17-of-23 passes for 277 yards and 4 touchdowns. “We should score every time we have the ball. We have the talent to do that.”
Mooney increased his passing totals to 1,076 yards and 13 touchdowns for the season and 3,162 yards and 30 touchdowns for his career. He hit Ryan Sargent (4 catches, 100 yards) for a 39-yard score on the game’s second play and also connected on a 23-yarder to Josh Walker, a 14-yarder to Camden McLain and a 32-yarder to Hunter Williams (9 catches, 102 yards).
“We’ve got a kingpin back there who makes things happen,” said Jacobs coach Bill Mitz of Mooney, who also rushed for 87 yards.
But the Golden Eagles also had the guys up front to make it possible for Greg McLeod to score from a yard for a 21-0 lead 10:05 before halftime and for Walker (13 carries, 118 yards) to cap a 92-yard march with a 4-yard run that made it 36-14. Senior right tackle Blake Broz (6-feet-4, 260 pounds) is the only returning starter on a line that has led the way to an average of 29 points a game.
“They’re coming along,” Mitz said. “They have to be a close-knit group and they’re getting better and better each week. We take a lot of pride in that and they’ve given our kid time to throw the rock.” Broz has moved over from left tackle next to senior right guard Mark Mamola (5-9, 225), who also had 3 sacks. Juniors Jonny Cieniewicz (6-1, 250) and Jeff Sidor (5-10, 205) have stepped in on the left side at tackle and guard with junior Carson Shoemaker (6-2, 220) at center.
“They’re starting to click,” Mooney said.
“I think we’ve built as a team and gotten really close together, and we’re just doing everything right,” Broz said. “As soon as the summer started we all got closer. We’ve done a good job but now we need to keep it up.
“If we block right and let them get their space we’ll be pretty good.”
Woodstock (0-5) did get within 27-14 on a 77-yard touchdown pass from Alan Hafer (16-for-25, 230 yards) to Jordan Sumner (9 catches, 184 yards). Jacobs answered with Sargent’s 27-yard field goal and a defensive stand on fourth-and-1 at its 8.
Now the Golden Eagles need to make every possession count as they finish with Crystal Lake South, Cary-Grove, Huntley and Dundee-Crown.
“You get confidence and you get the attitude of a winner,” Mitz said of the rebound from an 0-2 start. “We know we’ve got four playoff games in this conference coming up. Each team is fighting for their lives and it’s exciting.”