STEVENSON, Ala. — North Jackson wasted little time putting the memory of last week’s loss to rest. The Chiefs scored touchdowns on two of their first five offensive snaps and cruised past Douglas 46-0 in an Alabama Region 7-4A game Friday night.
“We came wanting to jump on them early and make sure they had no hope,” Chiefs all-state linebacker Tana Patrick said. “We weren’t really thinking about last week. We left all that on the practice field and just came out ready for this one.”
In losing to 5A Fort Payne last week, the Chiefs also were bumped from the state’s top 4A ranking but showed no ill effects Friday. North Jackson, which has outscored opponents 142-28 in the first half this season, needed just four plays before A.J. Matthews powered across the goal line for a 5-yard touchdown.
On their next possession the Chiefs, who clinched a playoff berth with the win, scored even quicker when Patrick caught a screen pass on first down, broke two tackles and outran the rest of the Eagles defense for a 39-yard TD.
If not for two interceptions inside the Eagles’ 20-yard line and 90 yards in first-half penalties, the Chiefs (5-1) could have put the game away sooner. Instead, a late TD pass from backup quarterback Zach Barnard to Montel Hale put them up by three scores and they continued pulling away in the second half.
In two of the last three seasons North Jackson has lost an early-round playoff game after losing a starting quarterback to injury. Barnard and starting quarterback Will Richard split time, each throwing for at least 120 yards.
“We feel good about both of them playing,” Chiefs coach Shawn Peek said. “We want to keep two ready because we’ve had some tough injuries at that position lately.
“The penalties in the first half were frustrating more than anything. It seemed like every time we got some momentum going, we got a flag. I just told the kids to go out and play.”
While North Jackson’s spread offense is new, its defense remains stingy, holding the Eagles to 42 rushing yards on 36 attempts and 104 total yards, while also creating three turnovers.
Senior running back Matthews made the most of his three carries, gaining 111 yards.
“A.J. is the strongest kid we’ve got,” Peek said. “He brings a load on every carry. We’ve got some guys who can make plays for us, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Stephen has covered high school sports in the tri-state area since the early 1990s, starting at the News-Free Press as a 19-year-old reporter. He has been with the Times Free Press since its inception and has been an assistant sports editor for more than seven years. Stephen is among the most decorated writers in the TFP’s newsroom, winning numerous state and regional awards for his writing on high school athletics. He has two children, Riley ...
Or login with:
New Account