There’s nothing easy about the J.Z. George football schedule.
The Jaguars will try to rebound from a 2-9 season in which they played with mainly freshmen and sophomores.
“It’s a pretty tough schedule, there’s nothing easy,” J.Z. George coach Ben Burton said. “Our non-district is pretty tough. We only won one of the five last year. But we have to play some of those kind of folks who are going to travel well because we don’t get a lot out of some of our division folks.”
The Jaguars open the season with Class 1A Okolona, a team that went 11-3 and lost to eventual champion Hollandale-Simmons in the North 1A finals. Okolona returns Jacorrius Standfield, who had 115 yards and nine carries against J.Z. last year and rushed for 1,275 yards on 135 carries.
“I expect them to be pretty good again,” Burton said. “I don’t know how much they lost, but I think we are better than we were last year. I think for us, this is more about us than it is about them. We’ve been working hard this summer and bringing back a lot of people.”
Then the Jaguars will hit the road to Class 1A Noxapater, a team that beat them 33-6 last year. The Tigers finished with an 8-4 record last year.
“We have played them for three years now,” Burton said. “We beat them over there the last time. It was probably our most competitive game early on. It was a 12-point game going into the last five minutes of the game. We just weren’t able to move the ball on them like we wanted.
In the third game of the season, the Jaguars will host Water Valley, who finished 8-3 and bring back 1,000-yard rusher Kenterrious Rucker.
“Again, that’s a game that’s 12-0 right before the half,” Burton said. “They have been pretty good in the past few years and made the playoffs last year. We didn’t move the ball on offense and kept the defense on the field. Hard to compete when you do that.”
On Sept. 14, the Jaguars will entertain Holly Springs for homecoming, a team they beat 16-12 last year that finished 3-8.
“I’m glad we are going ahead and doing homecoming against them,” Burton said. “There are a lot of distractions that week, and I would rather not go through that in division play.”
The Jaguars will then finish off their non-division schedule with East Webster, another playoff team that went 6-5 last year and beat the Jaguars 44-6.
“I know they lost a lot from last year’s team,” Burton said. “They lost their quarterback who really hurt us last year. We just weren’t competitive last year, and I think if we can find some linemen to go with out offensive backs, we will be a lot more competitive this year. With our non-division schedule, we will certainly see where we are at.”
The Jaguars, who are the second smallest school in Class 3A, will then begin their five-game division schedule with Ruleville Central, a team that beat them 29-12 last year.
“There were three games in the division that we competed with and could have won and the Ruleville game was one of them,” Burton said. ”We had the lead at the half and didn’t handle halftime very well. We had trouble keeping our concentration and that’s something we have to get better at. I know they lost the majority of their best players.”
Then on Oct. 5, the Jaguars will travel to 3A powerhouse Charleston, who finished 9-4 last year.
“They are always good,” Burton said. “I know they lost 14 or 15 kids from last year and might not be as good, but they are still Charleston. They have been pretty dominant the last 14 or 15 years. They are always good, and I expect them to compete for the division title.”
The Jaguars will then host Humphreys County, a team that beat them 32-24 last year in a game Burton said his team should have won.
“We had 445 yards rushing last year and lost the game,” Burton said. “That doesn’t happen that often. We got down inside the 20 three times and didn’t score. But that was the first time that I thought we got a lot better. It was the first time we were able to run supplemental plays on offense.”
The Jaguars will then travel to Yazoo County, another playoff team that went 14-1 last year and lost to Jefferson Davis County in the 3A title game. Yazoo won 49-6 last year.
“They played for the state last year and lost all six of their skill guys from last year,” Burton said. “They return all of their lineman except one. It’s hard to tell how good they are going to be but I expect for them to be pretty good again.”
The Jaguars will finish off the regular season with Amanda Elzy, a team they beat 26-6 last year.
“I don’t know how good they are going to be but I expect them to be competitive,” Burton said. “It’s starting to turn into somewhat of a rivalry. It’s close and our kids know a lot of their kids. We play them at home so that’s a positive.”
