Following back-to-back losses by a combined score of 81-6, the Century Jaguars needed something different.

So what did they turn to but a formation that has become all the rage in the National Football League.

Yes, Century pulled out the “wildcat” on Friday night at Hillsboro Stadium, and it worked to near-perfection.

The Jaguars used their new-look offense to pour in a season-high 40 points, while earning their first Northwest Oregon Conference victory of the campaign in the process, 40-21 over the St. Helens Lions. Oh, and it was homecoming night for Century.

“Obviously, when you put the ball in the hands of good athletes, they make good things happen,” said Jaguars head coach Bill Smith, whose club snapped a two-match losing streak to improve to 3-3 overall and 1-2 in league — good for fifth place, a half-game behind Wilsonville (2-3, 1-1). “We tried a couple different formations, a couple different wrinkles, and it worked out pretty good for us.”

That’s an understatement.

Century whipped out the wildcat on its seventh play from scrimmage, when running back RJ Blosl lined up behind center, with quarterback Derek Miller out wide as a receiver. Blosl took the snap and handed off to Jordan Gardner, who broke tackles and sprinted 40 yards for a touchdown and the game’s opening score.

On the ensuing conversion try, Blosl again got the ball directly, and he raced in for two points and an 8-0 Jaguars advantage with 6:37 showing on the clock in the first quarter.

“They gave me the opportunity to make plays, just do the reads, do the right thing,” Blosl said. “I feel like it worked great. Plus, it was a lot of fun.”

Then early in the second, Blosl and Co. continued to show why the wildcat can be so deadly. Blosl received the snap and tossed it this time to Miller on the reverse. The left-handed QB then launched a pass to a wide-open Brandon Levesque, who raced into the end zone from 50 yards out for a TD.

The score made it 14-6 Century, which never looked back en route to putting up 32 straight points. “Their speed took us a little off-guard,” said St. Helens head coach John England, whose team lost its third straight to the Jaguars to fall to 3-3 overall and remain winless in league at 0-2. “We just can’t simulate that in practice. We talk about it, but ‘25’ is pretty darn quick.”

That “25” being Blosl, of course, All the senior did was rush for a game-best 140 yards on only 13 carries. He also scored a pair of touchdowns — one a 56-yard run and another a 79-yard interception return — and he completed one pass out of the wildcat, a 29-yarder to…Miller, late in the second quarter. “RJ has the ability to do a lot of different things,” Smith said of his speedy 5-foot-8, 170-pounder. “RJ can run and pass, and that puts pressure (on opposing teams).”

Not only that, but by the end of the night, five Century players had collected touchdowns.

In addition to Blosl, Gardner and Levesque, Justin Stedman had a 12-yard scoring run, and Irving Nguyen caught a 33-yard screen pass from Miller for six.

Miller only attempted six passes, but he completed three of them for 111 yards and two scores, in addition to his own first catch of the season.

Overall, the Jaguars outrushed the Lions (236-174) and outgained them in total offense (376-300).

Also, five of Century’s six TDs averaged 51.6 yards.

“That was fun,” Jaguars senior offensive lineman Jared Bridgewater said. “The linemen have their blocking schemes, and what the backs do is, we get the holes ready for them, (and) they run. I thought it was just having fun, going out there, trying something new. Why not?” Which begs the question, if the wildcat worked so well Friday night, will Century continue to use it this year, starting with Friday’s key NWOC showdown at Wilsonville?

“Yeah, I think we’ll probably keep playing with it a little bit, adding a wrinkle here and there,” said Smith, who didn’t even need to use the wildcat in the second half, with his club comfortably ahead 27-6 at the break and then 40-6 early in the fourth. “It’s not going to be the focus of our offense, but it’s going to definitely be available.”

Game notes: With the win, the Jaguars improved to 3-1 all-time against St. Helens. … Normally a two-way starter on the line, Bridgewater played only on offense Friday. After all, the senior was battling an illness and therefore wasn’t 100 percent. “It’s been bugging me for awhile,” he said, “so I’m hoping that I’m on the last leg of it.” … The Lions outscored Century 15-6 in the fourth quarter, scoring a pair of touchdowns through the air, as well as a rare safety when the Jaguars snapped the ball out of the end zone on a punt attempt. … St. Helens next hosts Liberty (2-4, 0-3) on Friday. … Century didn’t punt until about 8:20 remained in the third period, and the hosts kicked it away just two times all game. … Jaguars senior Lamar Wise, a running back and defensive back, was named homecoming king at halftime.