JAY – It didn’t take long for the Jay Tigers to let Old Orchard know what they planned on doing with the ball.

Jay took the opening kickoff and marched down the field for an opening score just 2:11 into the game and never looked back. Jay ran out to a 19-0 lead after one quarter and continued putting the pressure on as they trounced Old Orchard 39-12 at Taglienti Field on Friday night.

Coach Taglienti would have been proud for the performance the Tigers put forth. With a an offense moving at will and a defense that wouldn’t budge, Jay amassed more than 400 yards of total offense, while keeping Old Orchard in check on the defensive side of the ball, allowing 149 total yards.

Junior quarterback Zach Bonnevie wasted no time moving the Tigers down the field, hitting tight end Kyle Storer for a 40-yard pass to set up Jordan D. Couture for the game’s first score with a 5-yard run. After an Old Orchard punt, junior halfback Bill Calden took over. He took the next three handoffs for 65 yards, including an 11-yard scramble to put the Tigers up 12-0.

After exchanging possessions, Jay regained its rhythm by putting the ball back in the air. Bonnevie hit Nate Shink for an 11-yard score late in the first quarter to give the Tigers (4-2) a commanding 19-0 lead through the first quarter.

Jay’s defense continued their assault on the ensuing kickoff recovering an Old Orchard fumble. Three plays later, Calden opened the second quarter with a 28-yard scramble dodging multiple tacklers to reach the end zone and a 25-0 Jay lead.

Jay’s relentless defense wouldn’t allow a positive yardage play from scrimmage until midway through the second quarter.

After accumulating minus-13 yards in the first quarter, the Seagulls put together a few completions and drove deep into Jay territory. The drive came to an abrupt end with Bonnevie intercepting Seagull quarterback Jason Dutton’s attempt, keeping Old Orchard off the scoreboard for the first half and holding it to 37 total yards.

The Tiger defense kept Dutton on the run all night long.

“We did well against the run,” said Jay coach Mark Bonnevie. “Whenever they tried running, we were there to stop it.”

The second half opened with Bonnevie making his second interception of the game. On the next play, Calden shook a couple of tackles and ran 87 yards for his third score of the game. Calden finished the game with 178 yards and the three scores.

Old Orchard finally found the end zone when Dutton connected on a 7-yard pass to Ryan Gallant, making the score 32-6. Jay responded on the first play after the kickoff with a 65-yard run by Couture, who finished with 117 yards and a pair of scores.

“We relatively young, a lot of juniors,” said coach Bonnevie. “This was a good win for us with Old Orchard never giving up.”

Old Orchard added a late score in the fourth quarter when Dutton connected with Garrett Hayes as time expired.

Jay will host Winthrop next week in a key MVC matchup.