The No. 1 thing coaches preach to their football team is turnovers will cost you a game.
J.Z. George found that out the hard way in last week’s 42-6 setback to Water Valley High School as the Jaguars put the ball on the ground five times.
“We had five turnovers, and they (Water Valley) scored off each one of them,” said Jaguar head coach Dustin Alford. “It rained all day, and the field was soaked. We gave them the ball on our first four drives, and they had a short field to work with each time. We put our defense in a very tough situation.
“On the positive side, we came out in the second half and played with them. They only outscored us 8-6, and we ran for over 175 yards. We figured out how to hang onto the ball, and our kids kept fighting. There is a different mentality with this team compared to last year’s team. We would have quit playing at the half last year, but this group is showing it has no quit in them.”
Alford said he and his staff have simplified things for this team — from the offense to the defense.
“We’ve made it simple on the offensive line, and it has showed the last few weeks,” he said. “We have developed our identity on offense. We are a run-oriented team. They want to run block, and our backs want to run the football. I’d love to see us more balanced with the pass, but this team is about running the ball. We are having success with that.”
The Jaguars finished with 176 yards rushing against Water Valley. Freshman quarterback Josh Fleming had 65 yards and scored the lone touchdown on 18 carries. He was 3-of-8 passing for 17 yards. BJ Williams tacked on 54 yards on six carries, and Nehemiah Williams had 54 yards on eight totes.
Nehemiah Williams and Jemarus Yates had seven tackles apiece to lead the defense. BJ Green and Arrick Green had six tackles each, and Demarion McGee and Tyler Duren had five stops each.
This week’s game
The Jaguars (2-3 overall) begin Region 4-2A play Friday as they battle Philadelphia High School at 7 p.m. at Farris Jenkins Field.
“They have played some good competition this season and their record doesn’t really tell the type of team they are,” said Alford of the Tornadoes, who are 0-5 on the season. “They have a new coach, and he is working to keep them focused and get on board with his system and way of doing things. It’s that time, though, when we are all starting over. District play starts Friday. It’s a whole new season.”
The Tornadoes have losses to Forest (27-0), Noxubee County (39-7), Choctaw Central (34-25), Bay Springs (28-26) and West Lauderdale (39-12).
They have two players we need to focus on and stop. Both run the ball hard, and our defense needs to do a good job of tackling,” said Alford.
