The loss put the Eagles at 0-2 for the season.
With two tough games behind them, the Eagles stay closer to home Friday, as they travel to Homer to face the Banks County Leopards in a sub-region crossover game.
The Leopards are off to one of their best starts in recent memory, having opened with runaway victories over Social Circle and Riverside Military Academy. It’s the first time the Leopards have been 2-0 since 1997, when they beat Jackson County to go 3-0 early on.
The Eagles hope to prevent history from repeating itself and stop the Leopards’ win streak at two.
“They should be a very well-coached, well-prepared, hard-nosed football team,” said East Jackson coach Frank Caputo. “That’s the way they are. Blair (Armstrong, BCHS head coach) does a great job with them. I think that they’re definitely the team to beat in the north half after watching them on film. They’re going in the right direction and they’re doing a lot of good things. I have a lot of respect for them and their coaches.”
Kickoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Oconee County
After a scoreless first quarter, and with half of the second quarter gone, the Warriors pushed deep into East Jackson territory where they attempted a field goal from 44 yards out, only to have it blocked by junior Tyler Collins. East Jackson senior Austin Bales grabbed the ball and raced 70 yards for a touchdown, giving the Eagles a 7-0 lead.
The Warriors put together another drive, and with just 52 seconds left on the clock, scored a TD and point after to knot the score at 7.
The Warriors took a 10-7 lead four minutes into the second half on a field goal, but East Jackson stormed back to regain the lead. With just over two minutes left in the third, junior Michael Stephens ran into the end zone on a handoff from quarterback Cody Gibbs to make it a 14-10 game.
Oconee County bounced back with its second touchdown with just under seven minutes left to play, giving them a 17-14 lead.
The Eagles offense moved into scoring position, but Oconee intercepted an Eagle pass with just under two and a half minutes left.
East Jackson’s defense stopped the Warriors, and the Eagles took possession with 43 seconds left. But a fumble on the end of a first-down run by C.J. Allen turned the ball back over to Oconee County on the Warrior 32-yard line, giving them the 17-14 victory.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News or The Jackson Herald.
