The Jordan Panthers’ game plan has been the same all year: just leave it to the D.  Jordan stuck to the plan on Friday night and sent their Homecoming crowd home happy with a 21-14 victory over the visiting Lakewood Lancers. Two defensive touchdowns and three interceptions for the Panthers lifted the program to what head coach Scott Meyer called, “the biggest win since I’ve been here.”

Jordan quarterback John Timu also plays safety for the Panthers, and single-handedly made it a tough night for his counterpart, Lakewood quarterback Jesse Scroggins. With the game still close, the Lancers began throwing it underneath the deep Jordan coverage.  It only took a handful of slants for Timu to make the read, and with seconds left in the third quarter, he jumped a slant rout from Scroggins to receiver Kevin Anderson and took it 40-yards the other way for the touchdown, making it 21-0 Jordan.

Lakewood stuck to the passing game in the fourth, and Scroggins had two touchdowns of 6 and 48 yards to Anderson and Tofi Tiedemann, but it was too little too late for the Lancers, who were held to 120 net yards and no points before the start of the 4th quarter.

The contest started like most thought it would, with the two heavyweight defensive units exchanging big power shots. On offense, Jordan continued the revolving door in the backfield, and used six different running backs for 110 yards with star LB/RB Taniela Maka still sidelined with injury.

However, it became clear early that this was Timu’s night.  Still scoreless at the start of the 2nd quarter, Jordan got the ball on their own 20.  Almost seven minutes, 80 yards, and 17 plays later, it was 7-0 Panthers after Timu pitched it to C.J. Willey who took it around the corner for the 10-yard touchdown.  On the drive, Jordan converted on two 4th downs, and Timu scrambled three times for 35 yards. 

On Lakewood’s first play after the score, Scroggins tried to avoid pressure and was hit hard by Trayvon Armstrong, who also had three sacks on the night.  Scroggins was trying to throw the ball when he got hit, and the ball floundered into the defensive backfield, where Keneti Vaitugutu was waiting with open arms.  He took the interception back 15 yards for the pick-six, putting Lakewood in a big halftime hole.

Be sure to watch the video of this game for more analysis, but the bottom line is the Jordan Panthers control their own destiny now, with games against Compton, Poly, and Wilson still left on the schedule.  But they will need more possessions like the 2nd quarter scoring drive that proved to be the difference in the game.

“We went 5-5 last year,” said Meyer after the game.  “We want to get back at some of those teams that got us… There’s a lot of football left to be played.  We definitely turned the corner tonight, though.”