Hubbard — Italy’s JV Gladiators left no doubt in Hubbard this past Thursday winning by 42-points. A combination of hard hitting, solid tackling defense and big plays on offense allowed the “armored and dangerous” JV squad to get back on the winning track and improve their season mark to 2-2.

Italy starts the game with good field position at Hubbard’s 47-yard line. Consecutive runs by Billy “Da Bus” Moore gives Italy a 1st down at the Hubbard 25-yard line. Quarterback Ryan Connor gets solid protection in the pocket from his lineman, John Escamilla, Colin Newman, Kyle Fortenberry, John Hughes, John Byers and tailback Moore which allowed the freshman passer to connect with wideout Tyvion Copeland for a 1st down at the 5-yard line. A busted play backs Italy to the fourteen but Marvin Cox runs untouched into the end zone on the next play to give Italy a 6-0 lead. Connor keeps right for the conversion and Italy goes up 8-0 with 7:18 to play in the first-quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff by Cox, Brandon Connor races downfield to make the tackle at Hubbard’s 20-yard line. A tackle by Byers brings up 2nd and 11 but Hubbard passes for a 1st down on the following play to their 31-yard line. Colin Newman makes a nice tackle, scraping down the line for no gain. Cornerback Levi McBride contains the sweep to leave Hubbard with 3rd and 12. Italy’s defense holds strong on the next play and Hubbard opts to punt.

Hunter Merimon flies in to get a piece of the kick but the ball still travels to midfield. Italy switches over to offense with 3:53 still to play in the opening quarter. Connor completes a second pass to Copeland who reaches the Hubbard 30-yard line. McBride makes an athletic catch on a Connor pass and fights for yards to the twenty-seven. Italy loses yards on the next two plays but on 4th and 10, Connor responds with a 31-yard touchdown pass to Cox. The conversion catch by Cox is ruled in the dirt but Italy’s JV takes a comfortable 14-0 lead with 1:44 on the clock.

Hubbard starts their next drive from their own 35-yard line and drives down to Italy’s 36-yard line to end the opening quarter. To start the second-quarter, Hubbard carries for a 1st down to the 33-yard line with Cox making the tackle. Byers makes a tackle in the middle of the line but Hubbard gains three. Hubbard drops back to pass but Cox makes an acrobatic interception at the 5-yard line. A block in the back during the return spots the ball at the beyond the 2-yard line. On the next play, Connor is besieged in his own end zone for a Jaguar safety to make the score 14-2 with 7:32 left before halftime. By rule, the defensive play by Hubbard forces Italy to punt from their own 20-yard line.

Copeland makes the tackle at Italy’s 40-yard line. A false start backs the Jags to the 45-yard line. Fortenberry makes the tackle to bring up 2nd and 11. McBride makes a stop at the Italy 33-yard line to bring up 3rd and 2. A keeper gives Hubbard the 1st down at the 28-yard line with 6:08 to go in the half. Italy’s Justin Robbins makes a tackle to bring up 2nd and 7 at the twenty-five. Cox makes a tackle after a Jaguar run picks up another Hubbard 1st down. Justin Robbins is on a tackle to hold Hubbard to a gain of three to the fourteen. Another false start charged to Hubbard threatens to stall the drive at the nineteen with 4:15 showing.

A quarterback pressure by Byers and a near pick by McBride brings up 3rd and 12. Byers closes the running lane quickly on the Jaguar try to leave the Jags with 4th and 10 at the seventeen. Merimon launches into the backfield to smack the Jag’s quarterback after causing an arrant throw. Italy takes over with 2:59 still to go.

Despite a strong run by Jaray Anderson for 7-yards, Hubbard keeps Italy from reaching a 1st down and the JV Gladiators punt it away with Cox doing the honors. McBride downs the kick at Hubbard’s 47-yard line. With just over 1:00 remaining, Merimon makes a tackle and Hubbard is charged with a grounding penalty. The Jag quarterback keeps the ball but gets knocked out-of-bounds by Copeland to end the half.

Italy stops Hubbard’s initial drive of the second-half. Moments later, Connor connects with Copeland who breaks a tackle, receives a downfield block from Cox and then wins the race to the end zone completing a 61-yard scoring effort. Connor runs in for the conversion and Italy takes a 22-2 lead with 3:34 showing.

And then, before Italy’s Cheerleaders could put their pom-poms down, Merimon picks off a Jaguar pass and dashes 35-yards untouched into the end zone for a defensive touchdown. Ty Windham scores the conversion and Italy leads 30-0 to end the third-quarter.

In the fourth, Italy forces Hubbard to punt with Cox receiving the kick. Determined to score, Cox returns the punt 60-yards for a special team’s touchdown to give Italy a 36-2 lead. Copeland scores the conversion and Italy can now go for the “Jagular” with room to operate and a 38-2 advantage.

Hubbard again has the ball. Hughes makes the tackle to hold the Jags to a 1-yard gain. Two plays later, Byers comes off the edge to blind side Hubbard’s quarterback. The viscous hit causes an incomplete pass and brings up 4th and 9 at Hubbard’s 48-yard line. The Jags punt it away with 6:10 remaining in the game. It doesn’t take the JV Gladiators long when Connor completes a pass to Copeland who breaks a tackle and then sprints 73-yards for another Italy touchdown. Copeland tries to make a one-handed catch for the conversion but it slips out of his grasp. No worries, the Italy JV Gladiators go on to win big, 44-2!

The JV Gladiators have a bye this week but will take on Hico at home starting at 7:00 p.m. Thursday, October 4, following the Junior High games that start at 5:00 p.m.

Go Italy!