“It’s amazing,” said senior wide receiver Dylan Haggy. “It’s a heck of a way to go out your senior year, making history, bringing it back to what it used to be around here. It’s awesome.”
The Division V eighth-ranked Jets scored 28 second-half points en route to a 42-7 victory over Fairbanks in OHC North action on Friday night at Kyre Field — clinching their first perfect 10-0 regular season since 1992 and first outright OHC title in school history.
“It’s something special,” Jets senior quarterback Cade Houseman said. “It’s been 30 years since we went 10-0, but this didn’t come overnight. We’ve been working for four years to be where we’re at today. It all came together at the perfect time for the past 10 weeks with my team, my brothers. We’ve worked super hard to get where we’re at. I’m just proud of my team.”
Houseman went 8-for-13 for 167 and three TD passes and carried the ball 15 times for 70 yards and two TDs for the Jets (10-0, 5-0 OHC North).
Haggy caught five passes for 57 yards and two TDs and senior Gunnar Leonard caught two passes for 64 yards and a TD. Leonard also returned a fumble 15 yards for a TD.
The Jets got off to a quick start in their quest for perfection against the Panthers. Houseman hit Leonard for a 43-yard TD pass and found Haggy for a 16-yard TD pass to give the Jets a quick 14-0 first-quarter lead.
With two minutes remaining in the first half, Fairbanks junior Nick Rhea returned an interception 32 yards to cut the Jets’ lead to seven points.
Northeastern opened the second half with a 6-yard TD run by Houseman. With 3:39 remaining, Jets senior Hunter Albright stripped the ball from sophomore quarterback Carter Miller on the Panthers’ 15-yard line and Leonard scooped the ball and scored to make it 28-7.
Houseman scored on a 27-yard run with 33 seconds remaining in the third quarter. Houseman found Haggy for a 5-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter to trigger the running clock at 42-7.
“I was really happy with how we responded,” said Jets coach Jake Buchholtz. “In the first half, we did some good things and then kind of shot ourselves in the foot a little bit. We haven’t been in those situations a lot fortunately. I was happy with how we came out at halftime. It was a good test for what we’re going to probably see in these upcoming weeks.”
Defensively, the Jets allowed 66 yards of offense, an average of 1.4 yards per play.
“We’re really just flying to the ball,” Buchholtz said. “We’re getting guys in the right situations to be successful. We’ve got a lot of dudes that can run.”
After clinching the OHC title, the Jets will now set their sights on winning their first playoff game in school history. The Jets are 0-9 in the playoffs since making their first appearance in 1985. They’ll host a first-round game next week at Conover Field.
“We still have a big check mark that we’re going to fight for and that’s a playoff win,” Buchholtz said.
The celebration after the game included Buchholtz getting doused with water by his players.
“I’m just really proud of our guys,” Buchholtz said. “The senior class bought in (as freshmen). They got their heads kicked in as freshmen and this is where we’re at today. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
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