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Jersey Shore Drowns Selinsgrove, Advances to District Title

Tagged under: District 4, Gameday Hub, News, pfn

| November 2, 2024

Playoffs? You bet. As the calendar turns to November, the High School Football Season turns to the playoffs. The first round of the PIAA D4 4A playoff bracket saw two teams that know each other far too well: Jersey Shore and Selinsgrove.

In the Regular season, the Bulldogs of Jersey Shore thrashed the Seals of Selinsgrove to the tune of 55-21. Their last playoff meeting, however, saw Selinsgrove with an impressive 44-19 win last year. The D4 foes added another chapter to this frequent faceoff between foes.

How did Jersey Shore get here? To start 2024, the Bulldogs rattled off three wins in succession against great teams. They beat 4A runner-up Dallas and two phenomenal teams in 2023: Delaware Valley and Selinsgrove. Their first loss came to still-undefeated Shamokin, whom they will play next week. To end the season, they suffered two close losses to good teams in Hollidaysburg and Scranton Prep. Jersey Shore entered the playoffs at 7-3 and eyeing a deep run. QB Elijah Jordan is one of the area’s finest passers. In 11 games this year, he has 26TDs to only 6 INTs. His favorite target: Evan Snyder. Snyder eclipsed the 1000-yard receiving mark in the win today and has 13TDs.

How did Selinsgrove get here? After a season that saw the Seals make a semi-final game against eventual champions Aliquippa, 2024 was disappointing. They entered the playoffs with a.500 record, but their wins have come against great teams. Every team Selinsgrove has lost to has at least 8 wins in 11 games. The Seals are spearheaded by Gavin Bastian. In 2024, Bastian had 609 yards and 6TDs.

Here’s how the game unfolded:

Selinsgrove were underdogs entering, and they showed it early. This felt like a game where Selinsgrove had to get lucky, so they tried a fake punt, denied. After the missed fake punt, Evan Snyder got right to work, Dogs up 7-0.

Selinsgrove then missed a Field Goal, giving Jersey Shore the ball back. Elijah Jordan unloaded a pass on a rope to Bo Sechrist for a pretty six points. Speaking on the TD, QB Elijah Jordan said, ” I just trusted my guy. I saw Bo was open running down the field, gotta give him a shot to make a play.”

After a spectacular TD just moments ago, Jordan improvised again, this time finding Luke Thompson to make it 21-0.

Bo Sechrist then got in on the ground to close up the half 28-0. Jersey Shore was cruising.

The Bulldog’s defense started to take control, scoring twice in the 2nd half. Selinsgrove would find the endzone late and avoid a season-ending shutout. Jersey Shore 48-7.

The playoffs are always a tough time for one team, this case being Selinsgrove. With the loss, the Seals drop to a final record of 5-6. This season was disappointing in terms of the record. They showed flashes all season but were unfortunately dealt a gauntlet of a schedule. Now, an offseason of work is ahead to get Selinsgrove back to where they need to be.

Jersey Shore is back in the D4 4A Title game. The most impressive part of the win for me was the defense. Jersey Shore scored 14 points on defense, more than Selinsgrove’s offense could even muster. The term “living in the backfield” is a football cliche, but Jersey Shore made a home in the backfield within seconds on every dropback. Speaking on the win, HC Tom Gravish said, ” I think the competition we played set us up for the playoffs. Playing against Dallas, Deleware Valley, and Scranton Prep all have prepared us for the playoffs.” Jersey Shore is at Shamokin next Friday night for the District 4 4A Title.

Follow PA Football News on Twitter @PaFootballNews

 
 
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