Ben Burton decided over a week ago that it was time to change and simplify the way things were being done concerning his J.Z. George football team.
Burton went from the pistol formation to the I-formation on offense and has moved several players around in the backfield, which means young players have been inserted into the lineup.
"We have a freshman at quarterback, and a freshman and sophomore splitting time at running back. Our offensive line has one senior and the rest of them are freshmen, sophomores and one junior. We are not giving up on this season, but the kids have bought into the changes," said Burton. "The attitudes have been good. We may be 0-7, but this is nothing like last season.
"We realized we needed to get more physical offensively. We are going to keep going and keep building this program. Our goal is to pull off a couple of wins in district play and qualify for the playoffs. The taste of victory will do these guys a bunch of good."
The Jaguars lost their seventh straight last week as they dropped a 29-14 decision to Ruleville Central. It was also their Region 3-3A opener.
J.Z. George held a 14-8 lead in the first half as freshman running back Deriaun Townsend, who had 99 yards rushing on nine carries, scored on a 66-yard run, and senior Malik Christian returned an interception 99 yards for a touchdown.
Ruleville scored twice before the half as they got a touchdown to go up 15-14, and with just under 30 seconds to go, the Jaguar defense gave up a long TD reception and the Tigers led 23-14 at the break.
"We had a total of six turnovers and turned the ball over twice on downs. You can't win football games doing that," said the fifth-year head coach. "Those are the things we have to learn to overcome. We've got to handle the situation better.
"Despite the turnovers and penalties, there were some positives to come out of the game. Our offensive line did a pretty good job of blocking, and Deriaun ran the ball well. Malik played running back, and he ran well also."
Christian, who has been playing quarterback since the start of the season, moved to tailback last week and had 52 yards on 15 carries. He will be at wide receiver Friday night when the Jaguars go to Region 3 foe Charleston. Freshman Jordun Normal will start his fourth straight game at quarterback. Sophomore Jacob Johnson, who Burton describes as a "physical runner", will play tailback. Townsend, if healthy, will also play running back.
Charleston is 5-2 overall and 1-0 in district play after posting a 24-8 win over Amanda Elzy last week. Yazoo County, along with Ruleville, is also 1-0 in the district as it beat Humphreys County 38-14 a week ago.
