AFA Championship

PUGET SOUND JETS
2002 AFA Championship Game
Sarasota High School, Sarasota, Florida, December 14, 2002

Puget Sound Jets 29 - St. Petersburg Sharks 15

The Puget Sound Jets defeated the St Petersburg Sharks 29-15 to win the American Football Association National Championship and finish their season a perfect 11-0.

Milton Myers takes off on a 55 yard punt return to set up the Jets first possession.

The Jets defense started the game a bit flat as the Sharks ripped of back to back first downs on the first two offensive plays of the ball game. They stiffened and forced the Sharks to punt from midfield 3 plays later. Milton Myers fielded the punt on a dead run at his own 15 and returned it 55 yards down to the Shark 30. The Jets went for the kill on first down with Lance Westendorf pitching the ball to backup QB Wade Sparks on an apparent sweep. With receivers running wide open down field, Sparks slipped as he tried to set his feet to throw and was nailed for a 5 yard loss.

C Rod Willson (left), G Keith Jones (out of the picture blocking the MLB) and OT Brandon Reyna (right) opened up this huge hole to set up Andre Edwards 8 yard gain.

Runs of 8 and 5 yards by Andre Edwards brought up 4th and 2 at the 22. Sean O’Laughlin’s 40 yard field goal attempt was wide left.

Taking over at their own 30, the Shark offense went to work with RB Charles McKinnon powering for a 6 yard gain. LB Dion Alexander and DE Lance Donnely stuffed McKinnon for a 2 yard loss on 2nd down, bringing up 3rd and 6. Shark RB Calvin Williams picked up the 6 yards off right tackle but was stripped of the football by MLB Aaron Wardrip and LB Will Postell recovered for the Jets at the Shark 41.


LB Dion Alexander stuffs RB Charles McKinnon for a 2 yard loss.	xx	MLB Aaron Wardrip knocks the ball away from RB Calvin Williams.

QB Lance Westendorf converted 3rd and 6 with this 10 yard scamper up the middle.

Julian Williams 15 yard TD catch was negated by a penalty.

Shark DE Cornelius Bland pressured Westendorf into an incompletion on 1st down. On 2nd, Westendorf stood his ground and took another big hit from Bland just after he fired a 15 yard bullet to WR Freeman Baysinger Jr for 15 yards and a 1st down. A few plays later on 3rd and 6, Westendorf scrambled up the middle for 10 yards and another Jet 1st down. Then Westendorf hit WR Julian Williams with a fade to the right corner of the endzone but the TD was nullified by a penalty. The Jets disputed the call and drew another 15 yard penalty setting up 2nd and 33 at the 35. On the next play Westendorf went over the top to Baysinger who made a spectacular play on the ball while falling sideways out of the endzone.

This 35 yard bomb from Westendorf to Baysinger was another 1st quarter near-miss by the Jets. Baysinger made a spectacular catch and kept both feet in bounds, but lost possession of the ball as he landed.

Kicker Andre Zahajko looks for daylight after catching a swing pass from QB/holder Lance Westendorf.

Baysinger managed to keep both feet in bounds but lost control of the ball as he landed out of bounds. A 21 yard strike to WR Jakoba Square on 3rd down put the Jets back in field goal position. Kicker Andre Zahajko came on to attempt a 31 yarder with Westendorf holding. Westendorf fumbled the snap and quickly picked the ball up and started to scramble. He looked down field but the Shark defense had everyone covered so he dumped the ball off to Zahajko out in the left flat. Zahajko cut back into the middle of the field where he was wrapped up by 6'11", 370 lb DE James Reynolds while LB Thaddeus Baxter delivered a hit that knocked the ball loose. Shark DT Michael Lowe recovered at the 10.

Safety Milton Myers up ends RB Sessions Byrd short of the first down.

The Sharks were able to move the ball out to the 45 with powerful inside running of Sessions Byrd and Charles McIntosh. A couple of incomplete passes stalled the drive and the Sharks were forced to punt again early in the 2nd quarter. This time Shark cover man Troy Lassiter was able to corral Milton Myers for a 1 yard loss on the return.

TE Romaine Smith's clutch 9 yard reception on 4th and 3 kept the Jet scoring drive alive.

Malachi DeWalt goes off left tackle for 11 yards and another Jet 1st down.

Starting at their own 21, Westendorf hit WR Julian Williams for 29 yards on first down. The Jets continued to march with runs of 4 and 11 yards by RB Malachi DeWalt and a crucial 9 yard catch by TE Romaine Smith to convert a 4th and 6. On 2nd down from the 28 Westendorf hit WR Jakoba Square running free behind the Shark defense for the games first points. Sean O’Laughlin came on for the PAT and again the Jets had trouble catching the snap. O’Laughlin alertly picked up the ball and rolled right where he shot-putted the ball to Square, who bounced it off Shark defender before catching it for 2 points.


This perfect 28 yard strike from Westendorf to Jakoba Square put the Jets up 6-0.			After bobbling the PAT snap, holder Sean O'Laughlin rolled right and hit Square for 2 more points.

CB Terrance Ivory celebrates his first interception of the game.

CB Toure Butler nearly intercepted this long pass near the end of the first half.

On the Sharks first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Jet CB Terrance Ivory got his first interception of the night, setting the Jets up near midfield. The Jet offense made some progress before successive penalties pushed them back to midfield. On 3rd and 24, Westendorf tried to go deep down the middle toTE Brian Pittman. The ball was slightly overthrown and Shark DB Sterling Newsome was there for the interception. The Sharks couldn’t move the ball and punted back to the Jets who ran one play to end the first half with an 8-0 lead.

FIRST HALF STATS
.	Jets	Sharks
rushing	10 - 47 (11)	14 - 65 (11)
passing	9 - 13 - 1 - 124 - 1	3 - 9 - 1- 18 - 0
sacked	1 - - 5	-
OFFENSE	24 - 166 - 1	23 - 83 - 0
first downs	6	5
penalties	6 - 44	2 - 15
turnovers	2	2
fumbles-lost	3 - 1	1 - 1
punts	none	3 - 30.7 (35)
punt returns	2 - 54 (55)	none
kick returns	none	2 - 29 (24)
int returns	1 - 0	1 - 18

DT Pat Gilbert catches RB Hassan Lang behind the line of scrimmage.

Terrance Ivory returned the 2nd half kickoff 83 yards down the left sideline to give the Jets a 15-0 lead.

	x		x
Ivory fielded the kick at the 17 and headed up field. 2) He cut back inside around a crushing block by Malachi DeWalt and Brett Wieburg (shown in picture 1) to avoid Shark TE Freddie Taylor (center). Once around Taylor he headed back out to the sideline.

	x		x		x
1) Ivory slowed up to wait for his blockers. 2) DB Jermaine Woods hit Ivory (#3) low at the Shark 30 but failed to wrap up. Ivory bounced off of Woods and and then 3) cut inside avoiding the kicker and 4) headed for paydirt as Woods could do nothing but spectate.

RB Charles McKinnon powered his way through a mass of Jets at the line of scrimmage and safety Milton Myers tackle attempt for the Sharks first score.

Dwan Brown breathed some life into the Sharks by returning the ensuing kickoff 35 yards out to midfield. The fired up Jets defense stuffed Byrd for no gain on first down, but a personal foul on the Jets after the play moved the ball into Jet territory and gave the Sharks a first down. Byrd was stuffed on 2 more runs bringing up 3rd and 8. QB Oscar Davenport hit Gerald Davis on a button hook for 10 yards and a first down. Two plays later Davenport scrambled away from pressure for 16 yards down to the 11. Davenport’s great play action fakes had been freezing the Jets outside pass rush all game, but this time he actually handed off to Charles McKinnon who busted up the middle for the Sharks first score. (7 play drive, 55 yards)


Malachi DeWalt gained 7 yards up the middle behind guard Darrell Fisher (77) and tackle Brandon Reyna (65).	x	OT Brandon Reyna (left) caved in the DE allowing DeWalt to get through the line and then cut outside behind the block of TE Brian Pittman for a 13 yard gain.

The Jets responded by quickly moving the ball from their own 33 down to the Shark 36 behind the powerful running of Malachi DeWalt. From there QB Wade Sparks avoided the rush of LB Johnny Newsome lofted a pass to TE Romaine Smith who was far behind the Shark defense. The ball arrived just before the defenders and Smith back pedaled into the endzone. (6 plays, 67 yards) Zahanjko’s PAT put the Jet’s lead back to 15, 22-7.

	x
With the help of RB Andre Edwards picking up the blitz of safety Troy :Lassiter, QB Wade Sparks stepped up in the pocket and lobbed this 36 yard scoring pass to TE Romaine Smith just before getting nailed by LB Johnny Newsome.


QB Oscar Davenport stepped up in the pocket and lofted a bomb to Gerald Davis running behind the Jet defense.

The Jet defense held the Sharks to 3 and out, and Myers returned the punt 14 yards to the Sharks 40. RB Sidney Orange swept right for 10 yards and a first down. The Jets looked like they were going to put the game away but a botched handoff from Sparks to Edwards ended the drive. Sparks appeared to cover the ball but Shark DB Troy Lassiter came out of the pile with it. The Sharks needed just 2 plays to capitalize on the opportunity with Davenport stepping up to avoid pressure from DE Mitch Dillard and going over the top to Gerald Davis down the left sideline for a 70 yard TD. The Sharks went for two but Davenport's pass sailed too high for 6'11" TE James Reynolds. The Jets were called for interference on the play and the Sharks tried again from the 1. Session Byrd banged in behind the left side of the line for the conversion. (2 plays, 70 yards). Jets 22 - Sharks 15

Intended WR Oscar Mitchell watches as CB Toure Butler gets an easy interception.

RB Hassan Lang busts through the line for an 11 yard gain.

Milton Myers returned the ensuing kickoff 24 yards out to the 42. On first down Sparks tried to scramble away from pressure but was caught for a 12 yard loss by DL James Reynolds and Troy Lassiter. On 2nd down CB Jermaine Woods knocked away Sparks pass for Baysinger, and then Lassiter and Woods ended the drive when Lassiter came hard on a blitz forcing Sparks to run and Lassiter up ended him short of the 1st down on the last play of the 3rd quarter. After the Jets punted to begin the 4th quarter, the teams exchanged 3 and out possessions. The Sharks took over at their own 30 and 2 Session Byrd runs netted just 5 yards. On 3rd down Oscar Davenport threw deep down the Jet sideline. Jet CB Toure Butler and WR Oscar Mitchell made contact and Mitchell fell drawing a flag. Butler was alone for the easy interception and returned it across midfield. The Jets sideline held their breath awaiting the officials ruling on the flag; pass interference on Mitchell – penalty declined, first down Jets!

The Jets couldn’t capitalize Butler's interception as 2 plays later Shark CB Cletus Smith stripped the ball loose from Malachi DeWalt and DL Michael Lowe fell on it at the Shark 46. An 11 yard run by Hassan Lang and a 28 yard Davenport to Davis pass moved the ball down to the Jet 22. Two Sessions Byrd runs netted just 3 more yards. Then on 3rd and 7 with under 4:00 left in the game, Davenport was pressured from both sides by DE Brett Wieburg and LB/DE Anthony Hicks. Davenport stepped up right into middle linebacker Aaron Wardrip who forced an errant pass. Milton Myers intercepted the ball at the 1 yard line and returned it out to the 25.


MLB Aaron Wardrip forces a bad pass.		Safety Milton Myers intercepts near the goal line.		Myers reaches the corner with nothing but daylight in front of him but surprisingly cuts back into TE Doug Rissler (left).

The Jets finally capitalized on a turnover as Westendorf hit Jakoba Square across the middle on first down. Square ran out of the tackle of one defender and then slowed up to wait for fellow receivers Brian McIntosh and Freeman Baysinger Jr. Both McIntosh and Baysinger blocked defenders as Square jumped right over the pile and then coasted the remaining 30 yards with not a defender in sight. Zahanjko’s PAT finished out the scoring, Jets 29 - Sharks 15. (1 play, 75 yards, 3:24 remaining)


Jakoba Square catches the ball near midfield and escapes the tackle of #4, safety Sterling Newsome.		Square (left) slows up allowing #2 Brian McIntosh to catch up and decleat LB #57 (right). Baysinger (behind #98) throws a key block on #20 CB Mario Allen just as he is about to catch Square.


To elude #6 Jerard Reedy, Square cuts back and leaps over the pile caused by McIntosh.		Square enthusiastically celebrates his 75 yard touchdown.

The Sharks took over on their own 34 after Jerard Reedy's 17 yard kickoff return. Pat Gilbert and mitch Dillard pressured Davenport over throwing Davis on first down, but Dillard was called for roughing the passer giving the Sharks a 1st down at the 49. A short completion to Oscar Mitchell and a 15 yard run by Charles McKinnon moved the ball down to the Jet 29. On the next play Davenport went deep down the right sideline where Terrance Ivory outleapt intended receiver Hassan Lang and landed in the endzone for a touchback. It was Ivory's 2nd interception of the game.

Starting at their own 20 with 2:25 left, the Jets went to work on the clock. Westendorf ran a QB draw for 3 yards. OT Brandon Reyna took exception to how the Sharks treated Westendorf after the play and drew a personal foul. As he walked off the field he enthusiastically banged his helmet against his forehead and drew another foul which pushed the Jets back to their 6. A 3rd down swing pass to Andre Edwards moved the ball back out to the 20 and the Jets had to punt.

DT Pat Gilbert demonstrated amazing speed in chasing down and sacking Davenport.

DE Mitch Dillard ended the game with this coverage sack on Davenport.

A short punt set the Sharks up at the Jet 41 with 1:23 left . On first down DT Pat Gilbert squirmed through and chased down and sacked Davenport for a 4 yard loss. The Sharks, not having any timeouts, hurried to the line to run another play. Davenport avoided pressure from Gilbert and threw deep down the left sideline where Ivory knocked the ball away, nearly getting his 3rd interception. On 3rd down, Jet DE Mitch Dillard sacked Davenport to end the game.