By Kenny Varner

MIFFLINTOWN – Friday night, the Juniata football team was looking to move back to the .500 mark as they hosted James Buchanan on Armed Forces Night.

Not only were the Indians looking to improve to 2-2 , they were also looking to knock the Rockets from the ranks of the unbeatens as they sported a 3-0 record going into the contest.

With the game being held on Friday the 13th, it was definitely bad luck for

James Buchanan as the Indians had both sides of the ball running on all cylinders winning 48-0.

“Our plan going in was just to play sound, fundamental football. I told the kids we had a great weekend of practice. We’ve had three really tough football games to start the season,” said Juniata coach Jon Condo. “We had the momentum from the get-go and we just continued all night going offense, defense, special teams. Everything was clicking. I’m really happy the kids because they’ve been really busting their tails. They deserve to have a win like that.”

In the first quarter, the Juniata defense set the tone early using its physical prowess as it forced an early safety at the 10:16 mark.

The defense also held the Rockets offense to -6 yards of total offense. James Buchanan finished with only one first down.

Quarterback Wyatt Ehrenzeller was 10-16 for 184 yards in just the first half. Also in the first half, receivers Connor Boreman caught six catches for 109 yards while Jasper Shepps had four catches for 66 yards. Bowman finished the night with 109-yards receiving while Shepps finished up with 104. Ehrenzeller finished his night with 240 yards passing.

After the first quarter safety, the Indians went right to work on the following possession. Starting at their own 48, the Indians marched down the field on a 8-play drive culminating in an Ehrenzeller 1-yard run. With the Andel Lopez kick the Indians led 9-0 with 7:31 left in the first.

James Buchanan was limited to a four-and-out, getting the ball back to the Juniata offense.

Again starting at their own 48, the Indians again raced down the field, this time it was a 5-play drive.

Facing a first and goal from the 2, Lane Peiper got the call and he busted his way into the end zone via a 2-yard run. With 2:36 left in the first quarter, the home team held a 16-0 advantage.

In the Second Quarter, Juniata used its two-minute drill to perfection posting three late touchdowns, taking a commanding lead at the half.

Ehrenzeller threw his first touchdown pass of the year on a 38-yard pass to Boreman while Lopez added the PAT with 2:49 still left in the half.

The Big Red defense stood tall, holding the Rockets to three incomplete passes and a punt, giving them the ball with a little over a minute to go in the half.

It took just one play as Ehrenzeller found a wide open Boreman on 26-yard pass putting the ball down to the Rockets four.

One play later, Peiper muscled his way in on a 4-yard run, upping the Juniata lead to 29-0 with still 51.5 ticks left on the first half clock.

Again, the Indians forced the Rockets to a third consecutive three and out, giving them the ball as James Buchanan had a first down on a fake punt but the Indians forced a fumble, giving them another shot on offense.

The Ehrenzeller/ Shepps connection hooked up on a 36-yard pass completion, taking the ball again deep in the Rockets territory.

Ehrenzeller called his own number to finish the first half scoring as he muscled his way in from 4-yard out.

The two teams went into the intermission with Juniata holding a convincing 35-0 lead.

Coming into the second half, Juniata received the opening kick off and wasted little time adding to its lead.

Boreman took the kick and blazed his way down the field for an 82-yards kickoff return for the touchdown.

After putting the game into a mercy rule scenario, the Indians added a Ehrenzeller 36-yards hook up to Shepps, making it a 48-0 contest.

With the second units coming in for the Indians, the intensity never dwindled as Juniata also got strong offensive performances from Ayden Dowling, Issac Ramirez and Jacob Condo.

Defensively, the Indians kept the shut out in tact, despite James Buchanan threatening twice late in the game.

With the win, the Indians even their record to 2-2 while the Rockets fall to 3-1.

Juniata 48, James Buchanan 0

James Buchanan      0   0   0  0 – 0

Juniata.                       16 19 13  0 – 48

First Quarter

JU – Safety, 10:16

JUN – Wyatt Ehrenzeller 1-yard run (Andel Lopez kick), 7:31.

JUN – Lane Peiper 2-yards run (Lopez kick), 2:36

Second Quarter

JUN – Ehrenzeller 38-yard TD pass to Connor Boreman, (Lopez kick) 2:49

JUN – Peiper 4-yards run (kick blocked), 51.5

JUN – Ehrenzeller 4-yard run (kick failed), 8.8

Third Quarter

JUN – Boreman 82-yard kick off return (kick blocked), 11:43.

JUN – Ehrenzeller to Jasper Shepps 36-yards TD reception (Lopez kick), 8:01

Fourth Quarter

None

TEAM STATISTICS      JB   JUN   

First downs                    7      21

Total Yards                    122  400

Rushes-yards.             33-109 28-160

Yards passing               13     240

Passing (comp.-att.-int.) 1-9-0 12-16-0

Fumbles-lost             4-2    1-0

Penalties-yards       7-39  8-45

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING: JB –  Elijah Tony-Williams 8-20, Alex Brake 4-9, Josh Kimmel 5-(-18), Christian Pine 15-70, Zach Stoner 1-27. JUN – Javier Lopez 7-96, Lane Peiper 4-19, Ehrenzeller 6-8, Connor Boreman 2-(-4), Jasper Shepps 1-11, Jaden Nealman 1-6,Ayden Dowling 3-11, Isaac Ramirez 2-6, Condo 2-7.

PASSING: JB – Kimmel 1-9-13.

JUN – Ehrenzeller 12-15 240, Jason Condo 0-1-0.

RECEIVING :  JB  – Tony-Williams 1-13.

JUN – Peiper 1-27, Boreman 6-109, Shepps  5-104.