Jets win semipro national crown

SARASOTA, Fla. — Puget Sound Jets Coach Ken Austin cleared a spot during the trophy presentation at Ihrig Field after his team defeated the St. Petersburg Sharks 29-15 last night to win the American Football Association national semipro championship.

That spot was where the Jets' late owner, William "Mac" McIntosh, would have stood.

McIntosh died last month after suffering a heart attack while flying home from Las Vegas. He was 59.

"We made ourselves proud, the McIntosh family proud, and I hope we made the Northwest Football League proud," said Austin.

Cornerback Terrance Ivory, who was named the game's Most Valuable Player, intercepted two passes and had an 83-yard kickoff return to open the second half to give the Jets a 15-0 lead.

"The plane ride over here everybody knew, but nobody spoke about it, because the McIntosh family was on the plane," Ivory said. "Everybody knew who it was for and why we had to finish it this way. We had to."

Jakoba Square, a former eight-man football star at Crescent and Offensive Player of the Game, finished with three receptions, two for touchdowns, worth 124 yards. Quarterback Lance Westendorf connected with Square for a 75-yard touchdown to ice the game with 3:27 left.

"Actually, I saw the safety was cheating over on our other receiver," Square said.

The Sharks scored with 10:19 left in the third quarter when Charles McKinnon capped a seven-play, 55-yard drive with an 12-yard touchdown run.

But the Jets answered about four minutes later to make it 22-7. Wade Sparks found Romaine Smith in the end zone for a 36-yard touchdown pass.

Westendorf was 11-for-16 passing for 211 yards and two touchdowns. Sparks completed 3 of 5 passes for 53 yards.

The Sharks scored with 2:19 left in the period when former North Carolina quarterback Oscar Davenport and Bobby Mitchell hooked up for a 71-yard touchdown pass. The Sharks got another chance on the extra point thanks to a pass-interference penalty, and Sessions Byrd's run made it 22-15.

Davenport was 6 for 22 for 135 yards and had four of his passes intercepted. Milton Myers' interception at the goal line with 3:43 left in the game set up Square's late TD reception.

"It feels great," said Austin. "Coming down not knowing anything about the other team. (The Sharks) knew a lot about us, but our guys rose to the occasion."

Toure Butler, a former Washington Huskies cornerback, was named the Defensive Player of the Game. He intercepted a Davenport pass at the Jets' 9-yard line with 8:40 left in the game.

The Jets (13-0) are the fourth Western Division team and the first Washington team to win the semipro national title.