The Jaguars of J.Z. George look to right the ship as they travel to Eupora High School to face the Eagles at 7 p.m. Friday in a Region 4-2A contest.
J.Z. George (2-4 overall, 0-1 in region) is coming off a 44-14 loss to Philadelphia High School last week. The Jags only trailed 20-14 at the half.
“It was like two different teams in the second half,” said Jaguar head coach Dustin Alford. “They (Philadelphia) came out firing on all cylinders, and we could only get things going in spurts. We were very inconsistent on offense. We continue to be our own worst enemy. I was at Philadelphia when their kids were freshmen and sophomores, and now they are all juniors and seniors. It’s a big difference. We are where they were two years ago.
“We are playing mainly freshmen and sophomores. We are still a young team, and we make youthful mistakes. Our goal this week is to learn from those mistakes and turn it into positivity Friday night.”
The Jaguars had 173 yards of total offense against the Tornadoes. They finished with 107 yards rushing and 66 yards passing. Freshman quarterback Josh Fleming had 66 yards on 12 carries and had a 2-point conversion run. He was 5-of-13 for 64 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown passing. On defense, Fleming had four tackles.
Junior Nehemiah Williams ran for 34 yards and a touchdown on four totes and also caught three passes for 40 yards. He contributed six tackles on defense. Demarion McGee had one catch for 18 yards and a touchdown.
Sophomore defensive tackle Fonzo Baskin had four tackles, and Tyler Duren had three stops. Shamarion Applewhite had one tackle and broke up three passes.
This week’s game
The Jaguars and Eagles hook up for the 19th time when the two teams collide Friday. Eupora beat J.Z. George 43-14 last season and hold a 17-1 lead in the all-time series.
Eupora (3-3, 0-1) is coming off a 35-28 loss to region foe Union High School last week. The Eagles’ three wins have come against French Camp, Okolona and Noxapater. Their other two losses were to Water Valley and East Webster.
“What I’ve seen of them on film, they are capable of being a high-scoring team,” said Alford. “I feel like we match up well with them. Our kids played them in 7 on 7 during the summer, and we fared pretty well against them. Our guys are going in with a lot of confidence against them.”
