By Bob McPhee,Staff Writer

JAY – The Lisbon High School football team took advantage of the elements Friday night and switched strategies to execute down the stretch.

Quarterback Chris Brunick called his number and scored a 1-yard touchdown midway through the fourth quarter as Lisbon slid to a 16-8 victory over Jay in a Class C Campbell Conference game.

The entire second half was played in the rain, making things interesting at Taglienti Field.

Jay and Lisbon each entered the game with identical 5-1 records. The win kept the Greyhounds atop the standings.

The action was tight as the defenses combined to allow 283 yards on the ground.

“This was a well-played game by both teams,” Lisbon coach Dick Mynahan said. “I’m really surprised that there wasn’t more turnovers in the game because the condition of the field was bad in the second half.”

The winning drive began at the Jay 40-yard line following a long punt return by Jon Stevens. Fullback Jesse Moan picked up three first downs to set up a first-and-goal at the 1-yard line. Brunick followed the left side of the line into the end zone with 6:21 left to play. Moan (39 yards) rushed in the conversion.

“We had used (Levi) Ervin (71 yards, 18 rushes) as a decoy on that drive,” Brunick said. “Jay was keying on him, and other players stepped up. We didn’t try attacking certain areas, we just stuck to what we do best.”

Jay had two opportunities. Ervin intercepted a pass, and the clock ran out on the Tigers’ final gasp.

Jay (5-2) scored on the opening drive of the third quarter when Brad Loon caught a 43-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Mike Nemi. Ryan Bourassa (52 yards, 12 rushes) ran in the conversion to tie the score 8-8. The Tigers converted on two third downs on inside handoffs.

“Jay made some good plays,” Mynahan said. “Their tackle and tight end opened up some holes.”

Trevor McCourt gained 51 hard yards for the Tigers. Zane Armandi picked off a pass in the red zone.

The first half was scoreless, until Dan Willis (37 yards) burst up the gut and then bounced outside for a 19-yard touchdown. Ervin caught a conversion with 4: 23 left in the second quarter.

“Lisbon made some plays on the winning drive,” Jay coach Mark Bonnevie said. “They didn’t force us to abandon our game plan, but we had lost some players. We’ll go back to practice and try to continue to improve.”