A season that didn't go as planned came to a halt for J.Z. George High School last Friday night with a 24-6 Region 3-3A loss to Amanda Elzy High School.
The Jaguars close 2018 with an 0-11 overall mark and an 0-5 record in region play. J.Z. George did very little scoring during the season as it averaged just 8.4 points per game and allowed 25.8 per contest. The Jags were shut out twice during the season (50-0 to Charleston and 20-0 to Humphreys County).
Last week against Elzy, the Jags moved the ball well at times, but their only score came when senior Chris Rias returned a blocked punt eight yards for a touchdown in the third period to cut the Panthers' lead to 16-6. Elzy tacked on a TD in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
"We had success running the ball as long as we stayed in front of the chains," said J.Z. George fifth-year head coach Ben Burton. "When we lost yardage or boggled down, we couldn't come up with a first down.
"It's pretty much been like that all season. So much changed for us when Hulk (Montavis Jenkins) went down with his knee injury before the first game. It changed the identity of this team. We lost our best leader, not to mention our starting quarterback who we based the offense around."
Jenkins was injured in a scrimmage game in early August against Eupora High School. He tore the ACL in his right knee.
To take his place, Burton moved receiver Malik Christian, who played the position as a sophomore, to quarterback just five days before the season opener against Okolona, a 19-14 setback. He had his best game of the season as he rushed for 164 yards and scored twice on 19 carries. He also threw for 32 yards on 2-of-5 passing with one interception.
A switch was made again under center midway through the season as freshman Jordun Normal was inserted and Christian moved back to receiver. The Jags went with a youth movement as freshman Deriaun Townsend became the starter at running back and only two seniors were starting on offense.
"Our tight end and one lineman were the only seniors on offense. It was about the same on defense. We were playing the last month or so of the season with a lot of freshmen and sophomores," Burton said.
The Jaguars have failed to reach the playoffs the last two years in Class 3A. J.Z. George was reclassified to Class 2A last week by the Mississippi High School Activities Association with a count of 274 students in grades 9-11. By those numbers, they are the fifth-largest 2A school.
"I think the move down to 2A puts us on an even playing field as far as resources and being more competitive with the teams we play," said J.Z. George athletic director Alex Rawls. "I believe it will definitely help us in football, baseball and girls softball, especially if we wind up in the Delta district. I think our kids will be more comfortable playing in the 2A classification
