The 2018 regular season opener for the Jaguars of J.Z. George will be a bigger test than expected after last week's scrimmage game against Eupora High School.
In the second quarter of the contest against the Eagles, senior Montavis Jenkins, who has moved from running back to quarterback this season, suffered a right knee injury as he was being tackled by a Eupora defender.
An MRI is scheduled for today in Greenwood to determine the extent of the injury to Jenkins' knee. It could be a torn ACL or a sprain, according to examinations earlier this week.
"His foot stuck in the ground and his knee went out on him as he was being tackled," said J.Z. George head coach Ben Burton. "Eupora was just a lot better than us. We didn't do a good job in a lot of areas executing. I'm not displeased with the effort. Our kids battled the entire game, but we have a lot of things we have to clean up.
"Even with Hulk (Jenkins) going down, we aren't going to change the offense. I feel like we have someone who can step in and take his place at quarterback. Of course, Hulk's 225-pound frame is going to be missed, but these other guys will have to step up and get the job done."
Burton said Eupora led 28-6 against his first-team defense. They scored one more time against the second-teamers.
The Jaguars will be at home Friday as they take on the Okolona Chieftains at 7 p.m. in North Carrollton. Okolona, a Class A team, beat J.Z. George 48-0 last season. The Jags are in Class 3A.
"Okolona lost a good bit from last year's team. If we go out and apply what we've learned from our coaches, I don't feel like it will be 48-0. We just need to refresh some things on both sides of the ball, and we need to get better every day and every week," Burton said.
J.Z. George is looking to bounce back from last season's 2-9 overall mark and 1-4 showing in Region 3-3A. They missed the playoffs for the first time in Burton's tenure as head coach.
