Jiblet Jam VIII was billed as "The Search For Hall". With the game now in the books, the search continues.

Jaime Hall found out at 12:30 on Thursday morning that he had a flat tire and couldn't make the game from Pennslyvania. Mike Shemeley had his home in New Hampshire burgularized and had to attend to affairs there. And Tom Marks spent the Thanksgiving holiday with his in-laws in Houston.

However, the SNMFC was able to supplement its roster with the return of Ben Darling, Steve Wollkind and the SNMFC debut of Scott Lucente.

The field conditions were muddy, due to a good amount of rain the day before the Jam, and the temperature was a balmy 61. Despite a severe thunderstorm watch for all of Litchfield County, the overcast sky only opened for a brief 5 minute period of steady rain, which drove the fans (Mr. Lucente's and Marc's girlfriend Nicole) back to the shelter of their cars.

The captains for Jiblet Jam VIII were Brian Durand and Chris Rooney. Durand' selected Jeff Hoose, Marc Lucente, Darling and Wollkind. Rooney's team featured brother Pat Rooney, Chris Plank, Kevin Dolan and Scott Lucente. In addition to first pick, Rooney choose to to defend the school end of the field, giving Durand's squad better drainage and drier ground in their red zone.

The game got off to an auspicious start, as Rooney's team turned the ball over on downs. Durand's team struck first, taking the early 7-0 lead. The teams went back and forth for a while, until Team Rooney forced a stop, getting them back "on serve". Team Rooney continuted to score, and forced two more turnovers in the next five posessions.

With the score 63-49, the SNMFC suffered what manny believe to be the first "serious" injury in the history of the Jam. With Team Rooney driving, Durand dragged down Plank and"felt a pop" in his knee. He then left the game, able to walk off, but in obvious pain.

After Durand came out, Team Rooney finished the drive to go up 70-49. P. Rooney then switched to automatic offense and Team Durand scored.

This proved to be the final score of the game. With the injury timeout and all the turnovers, the game was stopped short of the traditional "play to 100", making the final score was 70-56.

Chris Rooney won the first Theismann of his storied SNMFC career. Wollkind appeared outmatched trying to cover the lusty drunk, who went deep several over the former Williams standout. He also made multiple devestating tackles on defense.

Scott Lucente impressed in his debut, making a number of monster tackles. Pat Rooney played a good quarterback, a position he hadn't played in years. Plank turned in a typical clutch performance, making short-yardage catches that were huge in earning first downs. He also had an interception in his second consecutive Jam. Dolan found the endzone multiple times and provided the game's only sack.

For Team Durand, Durand played a solid quarterback, save a few poor passes that resulted in turnovers. Hoose established himself as perhaps the second hardest player to take down after Marc Lucente. Darling was the main deep threat, showing consistent bursts of speed, and Marc Lucente and Wollkind kept the chains moving with their short-possesion offense.

Officiating only came into play once, with Rooney calling a penalty on Lucente for having a girlfriend incommensurate with his own looks. Upon further review, the call was upheld

November 26, 2004

Click on the image above to watch the trailer for JJVIII: The Search For Hall.

The Search For Hall proved unsuccessful.