Jaguars’ First Win Since 2010 in a Thriller Over Marshall

When it’s your turn, you know it and Friday night against the , the knew their first win since 2010 was in order.

The Jaguars went up 7-0 early in the first quarter and never looked back, beating the Statesmen 45-25.

“The kids deserved it,” said Jaguars head football coach Said Aziz. “They worked hard for it.”

When Aziz took over the team in 2010, they went 2-8 and didn’t get anything in the win column all of last season. The Jaguars only managed to score 12 points in each of their first two games of this season before piecing together a 45-point outing.

Drenched in water and anything else wet his players could dump on him, Aziz emerged after the game with a smile on his face. The lights at Marshall’s football stadium shined brightly but were outshined by Aziz’s smile. The third-year coach said his players had a long week of practice preparing for the game and will continue doing so the remainder of the year.

“It’s good to get this monkey off my back,” Aziz said. “We told the kids we had a sense of urgency. We prepared for them all week.”

Hearing that call for urgency was junior running back Dieon DuPont. DuPont scored five Jaguar touchdowns (four rushing and one receiving) in the game. He said the Jaguars have a long season but Friday’s win felt good. DuPont carried the ball nine times for 143-yards and caught three passes for 63-yards.

“I knew that two of my defensive players were hurt so as a captain I had to step up,” said DuPont.

The matchup between the winless teams was full of hard hits, dazzling plays and miscues. One mishap was a fumble recovery that turned into a touchdown by Jaguar senior defensive lineman Carlos Mejia.

Aziz said the first-year varsity player is kind of new to the sport, but when the coughed-up ball landed in his hands, the 211-pound lineman took off for 40-yards to the end zone.

“At the moment it happened, my head blanked out,” Mejia said about his jaunt to the end zone to put the Jaguars up 39-13. “Then I heard one of my teammates say 'run' and that’s when I ran.”

Greg Sullivan said he wasn’t surprised by anything Falls Church did in the game. Sullivan, first-year head coach at Marshall, said his team didn’t always execute the way they planned. With three losses on the season already, Sullivan said this isn’t the way he wanted to send out seniors like Kekoa Yamaguchi. The senior fullback tore off three touchdown runs, two for more than 50 yards each in the fourth quarter.

Yamaguchi rushed 20-times for 255-yards and never left the field all game.

“He's a bruiser,” Sullivan said. “He’s a tough son of a gun.”

Sullivan said he is seeing daily improvement from his team. He’s certain better days are ahead for his team especially with a good core coming back next season.

 “We’re laying a foundation for the future,” Sullivan said.

EXTRA POINTS

Falls Church quarterback Adam Daly went 19-27 for 245 yards passing and a touchdown. Junior receiver Jordan Coneys caught seven passes for 59 yards and had a long touchdown called back on a holding call. Marshall running back Tayvon Timmons rushed for 83-yards on 19 carries. Statesmen quarterback Dallas Dudding was 3 for 9 for 21 passing yards and an interception.

OTHER SCORES FROM FALLS CHURCH-AREA SCHOOLS

Warren County beat visiting George Mason 58-21 and JEB Stuart lost to Annandale High 32-27.