JESUP – The Jesup J-Hawks closed out their regular season under the lights on a cold, rainy Friday night, falling 28–14 to the Hudson Pirates in a game filled with missed opportunities and big momentum swings.
Jesup Head Coach Jacob McMartin praised his team’s effort despite the loss. “I am really proud of our fight, proud of the mentality of our leaders and thankful we get another opportunity this week,” McMartin said. “We had some really great opportunities to get a win on Friday night and just came up short.”
Hudson struck first after taking advantage of good field position following Jesup’s opening kickoff out of bounds. The Pirates leaned on their run game, and Anderson Yoder broke free for a 23-yard gain before quarterback Tade Roberts recovered a mishandled snap on fourth down and scrambled in for a touchdown. The PAT made it 7–0 with 6:57 left in the opening quarter.
Jesup answered quickly. After Hudson’s squib kick gave the J-Hawks the ball near midfield, Jesup dialed up some trickery of their own. A hook-and-ladder play from Eli Hagarty to Gavin Cherry, who lateraled to Oscar Cole, went the distance — a 49-yard touchdown that brought the crowd to life. The PAT was blocked, leaving Jesup trailing 7–6 midway through the first.
Hudson continued to lean on its ground game, methodically moving the chains before Roberts punched in his second rushing touchdown late in the first quarter to extend the Pirates’ lead to 14–6.
Both defenses settled in during the second quarter, trading stops in the steady rain. A big sack by Andrew Devlin helped the J-Hawks force their first three-and-out of the night. Jesup appeared poised to score before halftime, stringing together a drive highlighted by a spectacular sideline catch from Aiden Youngblut and strong runs from Cole and Tyce Larson. But a late interception near the Hudson red zone ended the half with Jesup still trailing 14–6.
At halftime, Jesup honored its seniors: Max DeVore, Tyce Larson, Wyatt Renner, Reid Barko, Aiden Gantz-Rogers, Drew Munson, and Andrew Devlin.
The Pirates came out strong after the break, using their physical offensive line to wear down Jesup’s defense. Roberts notched his third rushing touchdown midway through the third quarter, and Yoder followed with another late in the frame to push Hudson’s lead to 28–6.
Despite the deficit, Jesup showed resilience. After quarterback Eli Hagarty exited briefly with an injury, freshman Oakley Brown entered and immediately connected with Larson for a 20-yard gain to spark the offense. Jesup kept the ball for nearly 10 minutes of the fourth quarter, but another interception stalled the drive.
The J-Hawks’ defense provided a spark moments later when a high snap to the Hudson punter sailed into the end zone for a safety, cutting the deficit to 28–8. On the ensuing free kick, senior Drew Munson powered through defenders for a big return to the Hudson 25-yard line.
Back in the game, Hagarty delivered a perfect pass to Larson on a 20-yard touchdown strike with six minutes remaining, trimming the score to 28–14 — where it would stay. The touchdown marked Larson’s 15th career touchdown catch, moving him into second place all-time in Jesup program history.
The J-Hawks (3–5) now turn their attention to the postseason. Jesup will open Class 1A first-round playoff action on Friday, Oct. 24, traveling to face Beckman Catholic (7–1) in Dyersville at 7 p.m.
Game stats: passing: Eli Hagarty 14/25-173 2 TDs, Oakley Brown 2/3-26, Tyce Larson 1/1 -6; rushing: Oscar Cole 11-50, Aiden Youngblut 1-13; receiving: Tyce Larson 8-94, Oscar Cole 1-49 1 TD, Gavin Cherry 2-25 1 TD, Aiden Youngblut 3-24, Bradley Pint 2-7; tackles: Drew Munson 7.5, Andrew Devlin, Max DeVore 6.5, Gavin Cherry 5.5, Tyce Larson, Aiden Youngblut 3.5, Brax Kavalier 3, Gavin Bell, Nicholas Tempus 2, Oscar Cole, Eli Hagarty, Wyatt Stroeder 1.5, Bradley Pint, Adrian Schares 1. sacks: Andrew Devlin 1.
