J.Z. George High School got its season started the right way as it beat Class 1A Coldwater 40-6 last Friday night.
However, the competition and intensity level will be sky high when the Jaguars host the Winona High Tigers Friday at Farris Jenkins Field in North Carrollton. Game time is 7 p.m.
The two schools are a mere 15-minute drive from each other, so naturally players know one other. Add into this year’s game the fact that former J.Z. George head coach Ben Burton is now the defensive coordinator at Winona. He spent the past six years roaming the sidelines in North Carrollton.
Also, the Tigers added on a running back by the name of Deriaun Townsend, who was the Jaguars’ main threat on offense last season. He ran for over 1,400 yards and scored 11 touchdowns as a sophomore.
“It’s a rivalry game, and one that the kids have been talking about since the summer,” said J.Z. George head coach Rusty Smith. “Our kids don’t want to lose this game. I know we had some pretty interesting games with Winona while I was at Charleston.
“I have watched several films of them. They are a big team, and they are very talented on both sides of the ball. It doesn’t look like they have missed a beat since last season.”
Winona beat J.Z. George 34-14 in 2019.
The Tigers opened their 2020 campaign with a 49-39 slugfest win over Kosciusko. Townsend made his debut for Winona by rushing for 222 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries.
“He’s obviously a very good running back,” said Smith. “We had to move on once word got out that he wouldn’t be returning to J.Z. George.”
In last week’s opener for the Jaguars, junior quarterback Jordun Normal threw for two scores and ran for a third against Coldwater. He and his teammates are excited for Friday’s game.
“Seeing my coach from last year and my teammate playing with the rival team is going to be a chip on our shoulder because we will know what to expect out of the both of them,” said Normal. “I feel like it’s going to be a competitive game against Winona. We’re two competitive teams that are willing to put the work in to come out with a ‘W’ Friday.”
Senior fullback/linebacker Wil’Tavious Williams knows the Jags are in for a big test.
“We know this is going to be one of the toughest teams we play this year,” said Williams. “We are going up against our former coach. I don’t really know how to feel about that. We all know Deriaun is a good player. I think it will be fun playing against him.”
Smith knew his team was the better squad last week.
“They hung with us pretty good for the first quarter, but they only had 18 players out, and we were able to wear them down as the game went on,” Smith added. “We ran a no-huddle on offense. We showed a lot of formations, so at least it gave Winona something to look at this week.
“Coldwater got their score late in the game against our JV defense. We had some good performances out of guys like D’Anthony (McGlothan) and Jordun. Yogi (McGlothan) had a pick six, and he played really well on special teams. The guys are slowly grasping what we are trying to do. We had our fair share of mistakes. It was back to work Monday. We can’t afford to take any days off with a team like Winona coming to town.”
