The rain relented after halftime. The East Jackson defense didn’t.
With an 8-0 start hanging in the balance, the Eagle defenders stymied North Oconee in the second half in a momentous 18-10 home win Friday over the previously unbeaten Titans (7-1).
“We’re a good team,” Eagle defensive end Scott Hill said. “We work together well. We’re fluid. We work like a well-oiled engine.”
East Jackson moves to 8-0 overall and remains tied for first in Region 8-AA with a 7-0 mark.
North Oconee’s offense entered the game averaging 35 points a contest but ran into a buzz saw in the third and fourth quarters against the Eagles.
The Titans didn’t pass midfield in the second half until their final possession of the game, and when they did, the Eagles stiffened.
North Oconee moved to the East Jackson 24 via a personal foul infraction with 2:00 left, but the Eagles recovered by producing two sacks in the last 1:52 to remain unbeaten.
The aftermath was a scene suitable for a school that had just pulled off the biggest victory in its short history.
East Jackson sophomore defensive back Tyler Collins screamed “8-0” as the clock ran down. Muddy players and drenched fans stormed a soggy field. The school’s PA announcer even sang a few bars of an East Jackson fight song over the loud speakers to commemorate the occasion. With an 8-0 record, the Eagles — only in their second year of region football — are off to the best start in their three-year history.
“It’s good for not only us, but for the foundation of future athletes here,” Hill said.
Offensively, East Jackson dialed up a few deep balls on a rainy night.
Eagle wide receiver Cody Gibbs caught three big passes in the first half from quarterback Evan Williamson, the final being a 28-yard aerial to put East Jackson up 18-10 with 50 seconds left in the second quarter.
Before that, Williamson's completions of 47 and 40 yards each set up scores.
The first led to a 29-yard field goal from Nick Alvarado as East Jackson trailed 7-3 in the first quarter.
The other set up a five-yard touchdown run from Deon Sewell to put the Eagles ahead 9-7 in the second quarter. East Jackson added a two-point conversion with a pass to Hill in the back of the end zone.
Neither team scored in the second half.
With the victory, the Eagles’ hopes for a region title and a perfect regular season remain intact.
East Jackson travels to struggling Dawson County next Friday (Oct. 30) before a huge showdown with unbeaten Jefferson (Nov. 6) in the regular season finale.
“I’m stoked,” Hill said. “I’m real happy. We’ve got to keep it up. This is something we’ve never done. A lot of these kids have never gone on a streak like this.”
Score-by-quarter
NOHS 7 3 0 0 — 10
EJHS 3 15 0 0 — 18
East Jackson’s scores
First quarter:
•Nick Alvarado, 29-yard field goal, 5:31 (3-7)
Second quarter:
•Deon Sewell, 5-yard touchdown run, PAT by Alvarado, 8:16 (11-7)
•Evan Williamson, 28-yard touchdown pass to Cody Gibbs, 2-pt. conversion by Hill, 0:50 (18-10)
D
O
W
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! Good luck to both teams! :o)
That “top 2a team that went deep into the playoffs last year” is 4-5 this year. They’re going to finish 5th in their own region (out of 6) and miss the playoffs.
But if you want to use that logic, East Jackson has defeated 2 playoff teams from last year, one of which lost in the 2nd round to the eventual state champion.
Unfortunately we have no head-to-head or even once-removed opponents to compare the two. Here's the closest we can come:
East Jackson beat North Oconee 18-10
North Oconee beat Prince Avenue 28-7
Jackson County beat Prince Avenue 13-3
Which tells me North Oconee is better than Jackson County, and East Jackson is better than North Oconee. Which should tell you ... well, I'll let you figure that one out for yourself.
There was one comment from BC Boy. Ya'll suck. You sucked when I played, and you do today. Everyone will continue to laugh at you because you are Banks County. Deal with it. Well, I will rap it up with looking forward to a great game with two very good teams. We will all have our answers Friday night.