Jamestown wide receiver Jericho Thagard slips the tackle of St. Joe’s defensive back Camrhyn Chinn on his way to an 81-yard touchdown reception during the second quarter of Saturday’s nonleague football game at St. Joe’s. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

BUFFALO — Owen Kicinski had only 12 carries in Saturday afternoon’s nonleague football game at Robert T. Scott, AFCS Athletic Complex.

But, man, did he make them count.

The junior running back amassed 204 yards on the ground and scored on two long touchdown runs in the early portions of both the first and second halves to lead St. Joseph’s to a 28-6 victory over Jamestown.

The win raised the Marauders’ record to 1-1, while the Red & Green, which was coming off a dominant season-opening victory against Williamsville North, was unable to make it two impressive showings in a row and dropped to 1-1.

“We knew it would be a tough game,” Jamestown head coach Tom Langworthy said. “That’s why we scheduled it, but I think there’s lessons to be learned from this.”

Jamestown head coach Tom Langworthy celebrates after the Red & Green forced a turnover late in the second quarter of Saturday’s nonleague football game at St. Joe’s. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

The game was close for a half — Kicinski’s 37-yard TD burst on St. Joe’s second offensive play and sophomore Carter Petri’s point-after kick opened the scoring, and then Jamestown found paydirt when quarterback Jackson Grey connected with senior Jericho Thagard on an 81-yard pitch and catch late in the second period. Only a blocked extra point prevented it from being a tie game.

After that, however, it was all Marauders.

Kicinski’s 67-yard sprint to paydirt on the Marauders’ first play of the third quarter and Petri’s second of four successful point-after kicks pushed the host’s lead to 14-6 at the 11:40 mark.

“It really took the wind out of our sails, giving up that big touchdown right at the beginning of the third quarter,” Langworthy said.

And while the Red & Green did put together a pair of long drives in the second half, they ended on downs and via fumble.

Jamestown’s Chase Bonta tries to escape an attempted tackle by St. Joe’s defender Camrhyn Chinn during Saturday’s nonleague football game at St. Joe’s. P-J photo by Scott Kindberg

Combine that with a pair of touchdown passes by junior quarterback Brayden Manns — one to junior Jayovanni Ostrander from 14 yards and the other to sophomore Camrhyn Chinn from 37 yards — St. Joe’s left the field with the convincing win.

Senior running back Chase Bonta rushed for 94 yards on 24 carries to lead Jamestown, but its offense never found a consistent rhythm, which came back to haunt them, particularly after the Grey-to-Thagard TD on a hitch route late in the second quarter.

On the ensuing kickoff, junior Kamryn Monroe forced a fumble and recovered it — much to the delight of Langworthy — which gave the Red & Green a first down on the Marauders’ 44-yard line with 2:11 in the half. But the possession only resulted in 13 yards before Grey was intercepted by Dion Cheatham Jr.

“We had a lot of things going for us (after Monroe’s fumble recovery), but we probably didn’t have enough explosive plays for us and that’s what we have to work on.”

The Red & Green open their Class AA schedule this Friday when they entertain Lancaster (2-0, 1-0), a 41-33 winner over Orchard Park in Week 2.

“While last weekend was a good (win) and a fun way to start the season, this (loss) will probably teach us more,” Langworthy said. “Losing hurts and losing teaches. I think we’ll bounce back. … League wins get you where you want to go and that’s all in front of us. … Obviously the goal today was to win, and that didn’t happen. We’re a little sore, but we came out of it healthy and now we let it rip in the league season.”

Jamestown 0 6 0 0 — 6

St. Joe’s 7 0 14 7 — 28

SJ — Kicinski 37 run (Petri kick)

Jam — Thagard 81 pass from Grey (kick blocked)

SJ — Kicinski 67 run (Petri kick)

SJ — Ostrander 14 pass from Manns (Petri kick)

SJ — Chinn 37 pass from Manns (Petri kick)