J.Z. George head coach Dustin Alford has said it week after week: His Jaguars football team just needs to get out of its own way.
“We averaged over four yards a play last week, and it was easily a game we should have won, but we just keep making the same mistakes and having penalties at the most inopportune times,” said Alford, whose team dropped a 28-21 decision to visiting McAdams High School last Friday.
“We have played three games and could easily be 3-0, but here we are 1-2 because of the same old things we’ve been doing since the start of the season. We need the older players on this team to take on the responsibility of leading this group.”
The Jaguars look to turn things around Friday at they entertain the Riverside High School Bulldogs for homecoming at 7 p.m. in North Carrollton.
“Homecoming is always a tough week because there are so many distractions and our team doesn’t handle that well,” said Alford. “We want the players to enjoy homecoming, but we also want them to remember they have a job to do. We aren’t at a point where we can take anybody lightly. They beat us two years ago for homecoming, and we returned the favor and beat them last year at their homecoming”
Riverside comes into the game at 0-3 overall and has been outscored 124-0 in its first three games. The latest setback was a 44-0 loss to Leland last week.
In last Friday’s loss to McAdams, quarterback Josh Fleming had two rushing touchdowns and Lucas Harper had a 1-yard sneak for the Jaguars’ three scores. Fleming led his team in rushing with 59 yards on 13 carries, and Justin Weatherall finished with 48 points on 11 totes.
Nehemiah Williams had 47 yards on 11 tries, and BJ Williams contributed 38 yards on 12 carries. As a team, J.Z. George had 199 yards on 55 carries.
Fleming completed 2-of-4 passes for 41 yards and was picked off once. Weatherall had one catch for 31 yards, and Corey Reed had one grab for 10 yards.
Arrick Green put together a monster game on defense as he had six solo tackles and six assists. He also had one quarterback sack. Tyler Duren had four solos and two assists, and BJ Williams had five solo stops.
“We are moving the ball on offense with our run game, and we had other chances to score,” Alford said. “Our offense is not designed to get down by a bunch and have to throw the ball. We are looking to grind it out and chew up the clock.
“The effort is there on the field and in the weight room. We are a much stronger team, but we need to avoid the inconsistency we are having.”
