Spring football games are hardly a full-course meal when it comes to looking ahead to the fall. They do, however, provide an appetizer of sorts, a glance at what key elements will be the focal point as the calendar leads into the summer of workouts and other team activities.
On Friday night against defending GHSA Class AAAA state champion Perry, the Greyhounds showed that, although key playmakers have graduated, plenty of potential to put points on the board still exists along with a linebacker group capable of anchoring the defense on both sides of the ball within the front seven.
After a full slate of spring practices, Friday night at Greyhound Field was the closest thing to a game atmosphere that JCHS had seen, minus one element. While there were fans in the stands, cheerleaders, music and the announcing over the loudspeaker and tunes from the Marching Greyhounds in the stands, no score was officially kept on the scoreboard.
That said, the Greyhounds still found the end zone multiple times and forced a pair of interceptions by David Little and Andre Hall, and in terms of scoring, outscored the Panthers 35-7.
“In spring games, you can’t tell a ton. We scored some points and made some plays with our receivers and quarterback,” Greyhounds head coach Mike Chastain said. “I thought our defense played really, really well. Perry, they’ll be really good up front on defense, and they showed that.”
Greyhounds quarterback Devin Edmonds – coming off a season in which he threw for more than 2,800 yards – showed who to expect his main target to be with Tyler Stewart and Zion Ragins graduating later this month. And he wasted little time doing it.
After an incompletion on Perry’s first drive turned the ball over, Edmonds would connect with Jaivon Solomon for a 41-yard touchdown. After Perry drove for a touchdown near the end of the first quarter, a long pass to Solomon set Edmonds up for a three-yard run on a quarterback keep. That, combined with a screen to David Little, extended the Greyhounds lead to 21-7 at the half.
“We’re young offensive line-wise, and we’re young defensive linewise. We’re trying to get there and figure things out running game-wise,” Chastain said. “Hopefully we can keep getting better all summer and get to where we are going.”
Little and Solomon were two Greyhounds showing one element to expect this fall – players going both ways. It’s an adjustment that Chastain says the team continues to adapt to in stride.
“I thought we competed well on both sides of the ball,” Chastain said.
Inevitably, defenses will look to key defensive secondary coverage on Solomon, meaning that JCHS will need other receiving threats to emerge. If the second half of Friday’s scrimmage is an indicator, a likely name to watch is backup quarterback Cason Taylor, who caught passes of 19 and 47 yards for touchdowns in the second half of Friday’s on-field work.
“We still have to develop on the offensive line; we are young up front. I like our group, we just have to continue to get better all summer at that position. I think we have to get better at the defensive line position, too, but I thought they played really well,” Chastain said. “I thought our defense played extremely well. I was super proud of our defense. On offense we had some bright spots, but there are some things we need to continue to get better on.”
