EAST JACKSON and Commerce are the closest of neighbors but these schools have been strangers on the football field — until now.
The Eagles and Tigers meet for the first time this Friday in a 7:30 p.m. game at East Jackson.
“We haven’t played them yet — it will be fun,” East Jackson quarterback Austin Beauchamp said. “Crosstown rivals, I guess.”
True, only four miles separate East Jackson High School from Commerce High School so this game was a natural fit for East Jackson and Commerce.
Eagle coach Brian Smith said this series just makes sense.
“Anytime you have two schools like that playing each other, it’s going to be big … It’s almost silly not to play,” Smith said.
East Jackson comes into this game at 0-1 but experienced a revival of sorts on offense in its 46-30 loss to Banks County. The Eagles totaled 405 yards of offense. Beauchamp accounted for 396 of those yards, throwing for 276 and rushing for 120. He finished the night with three touchdown passes and one rushing touchdown.
Commerce is coming off perhaps its biggest win in the Marvin Justice era. The Tigers beat Jefferson 22-7 last week, running for 377 yards to end a five-game losing streak in that series.
“Commerce did the things you have to do to win,” Smith said. “They played very well. They didn’t make the mistakes that we made the other night.”
Smith was impressed with Commerce’s offensive backfield and ability to run the option but also pointed to what he feels is the Tigers’ biggest strength.
“The biggest thing is that they are very physical on both sides of the football,” Smith said.
Expect East Jackson’s players to be pretty familiar with Commerce’s personnel and vice versa.
“I know a good many of them,” Beauchamp said. “It will be fun playing against them since I haven’t played them in a long time — since rec ball.”
Naturally there are some differences between the programs. Commerce has been playing football continuously since 1940. East Jackson started its football team in 2007 when the school opened.
“They’re a very established program and they’ve done some great things,” Smith said. “In a lot of ways, we’re still kind of the new kid on the block trying to find our way.”
Smith said Friday’s game will be almost like a home game for both teams.
“You’ll still have to fight the traffic, but you won’t have to go far to do it,” Smith said.
