Last Friday night the high school football team welcomed Jackson Heights to town for a District #3 matchup, with the Cobras entering undefeated on the season, tied for first in the district, and ranked #3 in the state according to KPreps. The Buffaloes were in a tie for third in the district but were coming off a tough loss to Jeff County North in the final minutes of the game the week before. With an opportunity to take hold of the district, Onaga seemed to have a chance to pull off the upset in the early stages of the game. But some untimely miscues and some very questionable calls quickly erased that thought, as Jackson Heights came away with their third straight win in the series between the two schools.
The Buffaloes began the game with the ball at their own 30 yard line and picked up a first down in two plays. But then, the first of two unsportsmanlike conduct calls that were questionable at best would end the drive before it got rolling. The ensuing punt to end the possession was returned 52 yards to the Buffalo 28 yard line, and two plays later the Cobras were in the endzone.
Onaga had some other offensive flashes in the first quarter, but couldn’t put any points on the board and couldn’t stop a Cobras offense that has now put up over 50 points in each of their last five games. At the end of the quarter, it was a 21-0 ball game and Jackson Heights never looked back.
The Cobras scored again on their first drive of the second quarter to go up 27-0 but Onaga showed they hadn’t quit, scoring their first points of the game on the next possession. A 10-play, 74-yard drive ended with a touchdown run by Jackson Kolterman and after he then added the two-point conversion, the lead was down to 27-8.
Though the scoring drive brought some life to the Buffalo sideline, they couldn’t seem to stop the Jackson Height offense. The Cobras would score two more times before halftime, when they led 41-8.
Up by multiple scores with no sign of things changing, the Cobras elected to keep their starters in for the third quarter. Despite the lead, Jackson Heights kept putting the ball in the air, throwing for 60 yards in the quarter and piling on points to make it 64-8 at the end of the third quarter.
The fourth quarter featured a running clock, and with the injuries that had piled up for Onaga, along with and ejection thanks to those questionable unsportsmanlike conduct calls, the Buffaloes were ready to move on to the next game with the final score remaining 64-8.
That next game will come on Friday night in the final road game of the regular season when the team visits Pleasant Ridge. Onaga is now fourth in the six-team District #3 with a 2-4 overall record and 1-2 mark in district play. It will be the first ever meeting between the two teams and provides an opportunity for the Buffaloes to get back on track. The Rams enter 0-6 on the season, having been shut out in half of those games. The two teams will kick off at 7:00pm.
For a look at the stats from this season, league and district standings, season totals, and everything else Onaga football related, head over to the district website (usd322.org) and go to the team’s page under the “Athletics” tab.