The "second season" gets started for the J.Z. George Jaguars as they hit the road Thursday to take on the Wolverines of East Webster High School in a Region 2-2A contest.
Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. in Maben.
The Jaguars, who started the season 2-0, have gone 1-4 the last five weeks. Their latest defeat was a 28-25 setback to visiting Walnut High School, which improved to 6-1 with the win.
The Wildcats from Tippah County held a 28-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. J.Z. George rallied by scoring the next 18 points to pull within three at 28-25, but time ran out on the Jaguars.
"What got us down early was turnovers. We fumbled the ball twice, which gave Walnut good field position," said Jaguar head coach Ben Burton. "They had a long sustained drive right before the half to go up 12-7. We had the ball to start the third quarter, but we fumbled it and they were able to punch it in to lead 20-7. We only had the ball for four plays in the third quarter.
"Walnut had a good game plan of keeping control of the ball and running the clock. We didn't help ourselves with the turnovers and mistakes. They scored early in the fourth quarter to lead 28-7. We got the ball back and I called a play we had worked on in practice. Jordun (Normal) hit Jacob (Johnson) with a pass. There wasn't a defender within 20 yards of Jacob. We scored to make it 28-13, and then the defense stepped up and held them.
"We got the ball back pretty quick and we were able to score in two plays as D'Anthony (McGlothan) made a big play. All of a sudden, we're only down 28-19. Our defense forced another stop and we scored pretty quick again to get within three. I went for two on all of these scores. We scored on one of them, but we were called for illegal formation. Those are the things that kept us from winning this game."
The defense for the Jaguars was led by McGlothan and Antwon Granderson. McGlothan, a sophomore free safety, finished with nine solo stops and three assists. Granderson, a senior defensive back, had six solo tackles and five assists. He also intercepted a pass.
Junior Wil'tavious Williams had seven solo stops and two assists, and junior Thomas Perry had seven total tackles (six solos). Keyshawn Daniels finished with three tackles.
On offense, the Jaguars played without starting tailback Deriaun Townsend, who suffered a sprained left ankle against Leake County two weeks ago. He only played early into the second period and did not hit the field last week.
"We are a different team without Deriaun on the field. He makes the other players around him better. We're preparing as if he's going to play Thursday night," said Burton. "We've been cautious with him in practice. He's had no contact this week or last week, so if he's at 95 percent or better, it will definitely help us on offense.
"When you take 200 yards rushing out of your offense, it's tough. For what we are doing on offense, he fits it to a 'T'. He's a physical runner. The other guys are good players, but with Deriaun out there we are a much better team."
McGlothan, Johnson and Normal carried most of the load on offense. McGlothan had five carries for 81 yards and one touchdown. He also had one reception for 59 yards which went for a score.
Johnson only had 11 yards on seven totes, but he did score one TD. He hauled in three receptions for 108 yards and one TD. Normal finished 4 of 6 for 167 yards.
The Jaguars and Wolverines met in 2018 with East Webster coming out on top 43-6. Last week, the Wolverines dropped a 28-7 decision to region foe Calhoun City.
"East Webster is going to be big up front and physical. Their quarterback (Steven Betts) is who we need to get after. He makes them go on offense," Burton added. "We need to do things where we can capitalize on their weaknesses. Last season we didn't give them much of a game. I feel like our kids are going to come out and respond. They know it's a district game and we need to get off to a good start."
In one other Region 2 game last week, Eupora beat Bruce 5-2. Eupora and Calhoun City are both 1-0, and East Webster and Bruce are 0-1. The Jags will play four straight district games to end the regular season.
