The Patriots enter play Friday winless in four outings, including losses to Athens Christian, Athens Academy, Rabun County and Elbert County.
The Eagles have bested Oglethorpe in both previous meetings, winning 28-14 in 2009 and 38-7 in 2008.
Jackson County
After losing the ball in the first three minutes of the game on a fumble, the Eagles turned things around when senior Brion Youngs intercepted a Jackson County pass and returned it 48 yards for East Jackson’s first touchdown.
Youngs would break back into the Jackson County end zone again about three minutes later on a 55-yard pass from quarterback Cody Gibbs. A failed two-point conversion made it a 13-0 game.
As the buzzer sounded to end the first quarter, the Eagles recovered a Jackson County fumble. But the Panthers got the ball back just 12 seconds into the second quarter off of an East Jackson fumble, giving Jackson County control on the East Jackson 27 yard line.
But the Panthers couldn’t finish, and with just under five minutes left in the half, Michael Stephens scored East Jackson’s third touchdown. Another failed two-point conversion made it a 19-0 game.
It was almost a bigger lead, as Tyler Collins intercepted a last-second pass by Jackson County, running it back for what appeared to be a touchdown. But a penalty on the play brought the ball back and left the score at 19-0 at the half.
A fumble at the seven-yard line two minutes into the second half cost the Eagles another chance to score, as the Panthers kept East Jackson out of the endzone in the third quarter.
Jackson County finally got on the board a minute and a half into the fourth quarter, making it a 19-7 ballgame. The Eagles answered less than two minutes later with a field goal to make it 22-7.
Jackson County intercepted a pass to take over on their own 17-yard line but the Panther drive was itself foiled by an interception by East Jackson’s Tyler Collins, who returned it 60 yards for a touchdown, making the lead 29-7
The Panthers scored again with just a minute and a half left on a 16-yard pass play to make it 29-14.
For more on this story, see Wednesday's edition of The Commerce News or The Jackson Herald.
