South Jones earns character-building victory

Sports

September 5, 2010

By Kevin Kyzar, LL-C Correspondent Laurel Leader-Call The Laurel Leader-Call Sun Sep 05, 2010, 11:05 AM CDT

LAUREL — The South Jones Braves edged out Perry Central’s Bulldogs 19-14 this past Friday night.

The Braves benefited from outstanding plays by a combination of their young sophomores and experienced juniors and seniors. One of the standout sophomores was running back Greg Clark, who had 31 carries for 178 yards and two touchdowns. He was subbing for senior Alex McGruder, who was nursing an ankle injury. Senior quarterback Bryant Baucum went 6-for-11 passing for 135 yards. Junior wide receiver Paul Clark had three receptions for 120 yards.

Perry Central scored first at the 6:18 mark in the first quarter on a 33-yard drive that resulted from a blocked South Jones punt. The Braves answered with a 53-yard drive, capped by a 37-yard touchdown run by Greg Clark for a 7-6 lead at halftime.

The Bulldogs came out in the third quarter with a 72-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 3-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Bruce Greer to Trace Pierce. The Bulldogs converted the two-point attempt to make it 14-7 at the 7:03 mark.

South Jones scored with 4:54 left in the third quarter on a 65-yard drive. It ended with a 17-yard run by Greg Clark, but failed to convert the PAT after a bad snap. The Braves trailed 14-13

The Braves then scored on a 70-yard drive, capped by a 6-yard touchdown run by senior fullback Terrell Ducksworth. The PAT failed.

The South Jones defense came to the forefront for the Braves when it was needed.

SJ junior defensive lineman Jamarcus Blanks sealed the win for the Braves with a sack of Perry Central quarterback Bruce Greer on the last play of the game.

Braves head coach Cecil Hicks said he was thankful for the victory because of all the mistakes he saw.

“We got a win. We made a lot of mistakes, but I’ll take it,” Hicks said.

With the victory, the Braves improved to 1-1 overall on the season.

“The team showed a lot of character throughout the game when they were down and they didn’t do that before,” said Hicks, who suffered through a 2-9 campaign last season.

When asked about Greg Clark’s performance, Hicks had high praise for the youngster.

“He (Clark) answered the call,” Hicks said. “We ran him a lot and he showed a lot of character for a sophomore. We have a lot of young, talented kids.”

The Braves host the undefeated Mustangs of West Jones next Friday in Ellisville.

Kickoff is 7:30 p.m.

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