JCCHS moves on from ‘devastating loss,’ faces no. 7 Elbert Co.

His Jackson County team (1-3, 0-1) had, in his opinion, dominated East Jackson up and down the field last week only to lose yet another game in vexing fashion. Click here for photos of the game.

“We’ve got to rebound from a devastating loss,” Kirk said.

In fact, the 21-12 loss made him “want to throw up.” The major reason for Kirk’s nausea was Jackson County’s five turnovers Friday, two of which led to 14 East Jackson points. The Panther miscues negated a 288-yard rushing night.

“We’ve got to stop beating Jackson County,” Kirk said of the self-inflicted wounds.

Jackson County certainly can’t afford to help out this week’s opponent, no. 7 Elbert County.

The Blue Devils (4-0, 1-0), who will throw a ton of speed at the Panthers, are led by junior standout tailback Tyshon Dye. Dye, who ran for over 1,000 yards as a sophomore, has scholarship offers from Georgia and Clemson. Dye scored three times against Jackson County last year.

“They’re everything they’re billed to be,” Kirk said of Elbert County. “As I said last year, this is one of the fastest teams I’ve seen.”

Other than wiping out the turnovers, Kirk said there’s really nothing Jackson County has to re-examine from its loss to East Jackson. That’s how costly — and frustrating —  the three interceptions and two fumbles were, Kirk said.

“There’s nothing to go back to the drawing board to,” Kirk said.

Which means that Jackson County is an improved football team with nothing to show for it yet.

“We’re a pretty dang good 1-3 football team,” Kirk said. “But at the end of the day, we’re still 1-3.”

Jackson County would love to continue to move the ball on the ground like it has the past two weeks.

Against Fannin County, the Panthers rumbled for 227 yards. Then Jackson County gashed East Jackson for nearly 300 yards on the ground this past Friday. The Panthers want to be able to run the ball, move the chains and keep Elbert County’s offense off the field as much as possible.

“That’s one of our keys to this week — doing what we’ve been doing, controlling the clock, controlling the tempo and realizing that a punt is not a bad thing,” Kirk said.

The Panthers are hoping for yet another huge night from Dustin Scott. Scott enjoyed a career game against East Jackson with 189 yards on 31 carries and a touchdown. “He was on fire,” Kirk said. “He had 189 yards rushing and over 200 all-purpose yards … We knew he could be special.”

It’s possible, however, that Jackson County will play multiple quarterbacks Friday. Kirk said that the Panthers have installed packages for current starter, Kyle Daniel, as well as Jalen Banks and Xavier Harper.

The coach said the key to Friday’s game for the Panthers is simply not themselves. “If we play like we have the past two weeks and can eliminate the mistakes, we’ll have a chance to play with Elbert County,” Kirk said.

So, now, after a Friday of serious frustration last week, Jackson County is embracing this Friday’s challenge.

“Elbert County is a great opponent,” Kirk said. “As I told our kids, we’ve got a great opportunity to play a top 10 team in the state of Georgia.”