Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes Football

Dukes Fall to Grafton 27-21 in Heartbreak Finish

Jayden Jackson

QB Jayden Jackson had 3 TDs and 118 yards rushing against Grafton.
Photo Credit: Rod Brower

The Whitefish Bay Blue Dukes lost a 27-21 nail biter to the Grafton Black Hawks with only seconds left on the clock Friday night at Grafton High School.

Before Black Hawks QB Zach Weir connected with WR Domnic Voiland for a 77 yard TD with 25 seconds left in the game, Dukes QB Jayden Jackson pulled off the impossible at the 48 second mark by crashing his way through the Grafton line for a 7 yard touchdown, and then, only moments later, driving through for a two point conversion to tie the game 21-21.

Jackson was the true standout of the night with 3 TDs, 118 yards rushing, 181 yards passing and an 85% success rate on 4th down conversions. Had he not been sacked for a loss late in 1st quarter after an impressive drive to the 6-yard-line, the game may have ended in the Dukes favor.

Drew Garcia (48 yards), Grover Bortolotti (14 yards and a recovered fumble) and Michael Kaufman (11 yards) provided additional momentum to move the Dukes down the field. WR Jack Steckler, Jackson’s favorite target, caught 6 passes for 108 yards. Jackson also connected with Drew Garcia three times for 33 yards. Not to be forgotten, RB Byron Burrows recorded a 55 yard punt return in the 2nd quarter to position the Dukes to tie the game 7-7.

The Dukes offense, though, was hamstrung by penalties throughout the game, including several offensive holding calls and a 15 yard loss for an offensive personal foul in the 2nd quarter. All told, Bay lost 65 yards on 7 penalties. Nevertheless, the offense maintained control of the ball for a solid 31:19 minutes, putting up 369 total yards.

On the other side of the line, the Dukes D played hard against Weir and the Black Hawks offense, 308 yards for the night. LB Patrick Muth recorded a solo sack for a 15 yard loss.

Next Up …

The Dukes return to Lubar Field on Sept. 20, 2019 to face arch rival Homestead at 7:00 p.m.

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