J.Z. George head coach Rusty Smith is making sure his players realize what time it is before Friday night’s contest against Riverside High School gets started.
“It’s the second season,” said Smith, second-year head coach of the Jaguars. “It’s October and district play gets started Friday. This is when it starts counting.”
The Jaguars are coming off a solid 40-14 non-district win over Class 3A Amanda Elzy. J.Z. George got a balanced offensive attack in taking down the Panthers on their home field in Greenwood.
“The kids all did a good job,” added Smith. “We opened the game with a long pass to Yogi (D’Anthony McGlothan) on our first drive. We moved the ball well, and a big reason for that was the improved play of our offensive line. We still need to stay on our blocks better and run our routes a little more crisp, but I really like what I’m seeing right now.
“The guys are paying attention in practice. That’s the reason we played so well last week. We had a good week of practice. If they can understand and do that each week, it will only make us a better team down the line. We had rain one day last week during a practice. We didn’t stop. It seemed to fire them up.”
The Jaguars led 6-0 early in the first period with the TD pass from Jordun Normal to McGlothan. They put the game away in the second frame with an 18-point outburst for a 24-0 advantage at the half.
J.Z. George (3-2) outscored Elzy 16-6 in the third frame for a 40-6 cushion headed to the fourth.
“They (Elzy) scored on us late in the game with our young kids on the field,” said Smith. “We were lined up wrong. I pulled the dogs in the second half. We weren’t trying to run up the score.”
Smith was pleased that so many young players got playing time.
“I saw the confidence building in our younger kids, and they are gaining valuable experience,” he added. “All of our kids were more focused on this game than the week before. We had homecoming, and it affected the way we played against Holly Springs.”
McGlothan, a senior all-purpose player, led the team in rushing with 134 yards and a touchdown on just six carries. He also had three receptions for 90 yards and two scores.
Normal finished with 150 yards passing on 5-of-11 attempts and no interceptions. The senior signal caller ran for 50 yards and a touchdown on seven carries.
Jorden Cobbins ran for 50 yards and a score on nine tries, and Alex Criss had a 2-point conversion.
Keiyhaun Wilks led the defense with eight total tackles, which included three quarterback sacks. He also recorded a safety. James Journey returned an interception 50 yards for a touchdown.
Friday’s opponent
The Jaguars will be at home to start Region 4-2A play as they entertain the Bulldogs of Riverside High School.
Riverside is off to a 0-4 start, dropping a 44-0 decision to top-ranked Greenville Christian School last week.
“I know they will line up right,” said Smith. “Maybe we can get up early on them, and they will be ready to call it quits by the second half.
“I’m just glad we’ve built some momentum before we go into district play. We’ve won our last two games, so we hope to keep things going Friday night.”
Riverside has been outscored 95-0 through its first four games. Other teams in the district are Leflore County, Leland and O’Bannon.
