D’Evelyn senior quarterback Mark Schaffer had visions of breaking a Colorado state passing record Thursday, Oct. 12, at Trailblazer Stadium.
Facing Jefferson (0-7, 0-4 in Class 3A Central Metro League), the Jaguars’ passing attack was going to see how close Schaffer could get to breaking the all-time single game passing record of 559 yards set by Berthoud’s Matt Fahl in 1999.
“We knew would could beat some records,” Schaffer said. “The coach (Jeremy Bennett) just gave us the opportunity to go out there.”
By halftime, D’Evelyn (4-3, 1-2) had a 42-0 lead. Schaffer was 13 of 20 passing for 323 yards and four touchdowns through the air. Bennett planned on giving Schaffer two more series in the second half behind center before putting backup quarterback Garrett Griffeth.
D’Evelyn junior Anthony Baldassari changed those plans when he returned the opening kickoff in the second half 80 yards for a touchdown. The Jaguars went up 49-0 and induced a running clock for the remainder of the game.
Schaffer was in for one more offensive series and ran for his third touchdown of the game with just over a minute left in the third quarter. He finished 16 of 23 through the air for 372 yards and four touchdowns, well short of Fahl’s mark. The four-year starting quarterback also had six rushes for 21 yards and three touchdowns.
“I wasn’t trying to run it up,” Bennett said. “But our kids needed to get back on track.”
D’Evelyn was riding a three-game losing streak and a 58-0 victory over the Saints gave the Jaguars their first conference victory of the season.
“We know we beat ourselves those three games,” Schaffer said.
Schaffer isn’t just D’Evelyn’s leading passer. He leads the team in rushing with more than 600 yards and nine touchdowns on the ground.
“He has gotten a lot better,” Bennett said. “He works at it really hard. He has made some mistakes trying to force stuff, but he got out of that. This was a good game for him.”
Schaffer has tossed 25 touchdowns through seven games, but has also thrown 17 interceptions. The trio of junior receivers Baldassari, Jordan Kehoe and James Holland has combined for more than 2,000 receiving yards with three games left in the regular season.
“Not having one main target makes Mark more versatile,” Kehoe said. “He has four guys on the outside that he can check down from.”
Kehoe had touchdown catches of 3 and 33 yards against Jefferson. Baldassari had a 21-yard touchdown to go along with his kickoff return and Holland hauled in the longest scoring strike of the night was a 71-yard touchdown catch in the first quarter.
Having four years experience behind center at the varsity level is rare, but Schaffer credits that experience and the new coaching that came in last season for his improvement.
“You can mentally see what is going to happen. You can read the field much better,” Schaffer said. “Thank God all these coaching came, otherwise it wouldn’t be like this.”
D’Evelyn (4-3, 1-2) faces Castle View (1-6, 1-2) at 1 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 21, at Douglas County Stadium.