Bloomington Jefferson football coach Tim Carlson's players showed immense heart to earn a 34-20 victory Friday against
Bloomington Jefferson pours it on in football victory over Cooper
Jonathan Weber scored three touchdowns for Jefferson, which scored on its first five possessions.
October 7, 2023 at 1:52PM
Cooper, No. 9 in Class 5A. But Carlson's heart, his wife, Kelly, was watching from the desert.
Which probably was a good thing considering the Jaguars went for it on fourth down while clinging to a one-score lead in the fourth quarter.
"She's watching online in Arizona with some of her high school friends," Carlson said. "Otherwise, she would have let me hear it for that play call when I got home, like, 'What are you doing?' But one of the hardest things to teach kids who haven't won is how to win. And we're really getting there."
Now 5-1, the Jaguars are heading toward their most memorable finish since reaching the state tournament in 2014. Not bad for a senior class with little in the way of success in the past three seasons.
"It feels amazing," said quarterback Tyson Schultz, who connected with fellow senior Daniel King for a clutch 15-yard touchdown. "We've been talking about this since the third grade. We still have work to do, but it's a great feeling. This team has gone through a lot with the poor seasons before this one, but we've worked so hard, and it's a blessing to finally see it coming true."
Senior running back Jonathan Weber made three touchdown runs as the Jaguars scored on their first five possessions. Weber's third-quarter score marked the first points Cooper (4-2) surrendered in the second half this season (not counting the 13 points it gave up in overtime against Armstrong).
"Our offensive line was just too physical for them," Schultz said.
Cooper co-head coach Tony Patterson didn't argue.
"We were out of position on a few plays, and that can't happen against a physical team like theirs," Patterson said.
Two D'Marion Hoskins touchdown runs just 46 seconds apart — the second one set up by a recovery of a Jaguars fumble on the kickoff — put the Hawks in contention.
With its lead cut to 27-20 in the fourth quarter, Jefferson pushed back when Schultz found King.
"I'm a big fan of Bethel football coach Steve Johnson," Carlson said. "And one of the things he always says is, 'Run to the fight, stay in the fight, finish.' "
Six players plus head coach Garrett Raboin and assistant coach Ben Gordon are from Minnesota. The tournament’s games will be televised starting Monday.
