Just like building a house, the confidence keeps rising for the young J.Z. George football team.
The Jaguars moved to 2-0 on the season with a 36-20 triumph over Hamilton High School last Friday night in Hamilton. J.Z. George returns home this week to face the West Bolivar Eagles from Rosedale.
"I don't know too much about them from last year to this year. I didn't watch any film on them last year. I've seen their first two games from this season. The kid who played quarterback the first week didn't play last week," said J.Z. George head Coach Ben Burton. "They have athletes. We will need to put it all together this week to have success."
So far this young season, that's what the Jaguars have done. Starting 2-0 after going through an 0-11 campaign in 2018 has made a big difference.
"Success is good. Winning is fun. We are building confidence right now, and we are playing with confidence. Our schedule was set up to help us do just that," added Burton. "These first three games give us an opportunity to have some success if we play well. We have done some good things the first two games, but we are a long way from being a good football team.
"We did what we were supposed to do last week. The starters on both sides of the ball did their jobs, which allowed us to play some younger kids and get them some game experience."
The Jaguars held a 15-0 lead after the first quarter and increased their advantage to 29-6 by halftime. After an early TD in the third frame made it 36-6, Burton pulled his starters on both sides of the ball. The starting defense, led by senior tackle Cory Clay's seven total stops, held the Lions to -39 yards rushing up until the six-minute mark of the third frame.
"The offensive and defensive lines controlled the game for us. We were able to run the ball, and the defense was getting to the ball and making stops," said Burton. "We scored on five of our six drives, and we scored in the red zone all four times. And for the second straight week, we had no fumbles and no interceptions.
"We still need to cut down on our penalties. We had a chop block, two holding penalties and two false start penalties. Against good football teams, those mistakes will come back to hurt you."
Sophomore tailback Deriaun Townsend and junior fullback Jacob Johnson combined to rush for 232 yards and account for 20 of the Jags’ 36 points. Townsend had 164 yards and two scores on 15 carries, while Johnson tallied 68 yards, a TD and a 2-point conversion run on seven carries.
Sophomore quarterback Jordun Normal only had three carries for four yards but scored on two short runs. He was 4 of 5 passing for 65 yards.
Senior receiver Malik Branch had three receptions for 49 yards.
Wil'tavious Williams, who booted two extra points, had four tackles on defense. Antwon Granderson and D'Anthony McGlothan had two solos and two assists each.
