STOCKBRIDGE – A ground game with physical play up front is among the reasons that Stockbridge finished as a state runner-up a season ago.
It also ended up being in part why the Tigers were able to rally from a 14-point second-half deficit on Saturday afternoon to get past the Greyhounds 28-21 on a 31-yard game-winning run with less than 30 seconds to go.
Saturday’s contest was postponed from the night before due to Hurricane Helene.
“We just didn’t make plays when we needed to in the second half, and the ball bounced their way,” Greyhounds head coach Mike Chastain said. “I’m really proud of our guys for fighting and getting after it. We’ll keep working hard to keep getting better.”
The win kept Stockbridge and Ola as the only unbeaten teams in region play while Jones County drops to 4-2 overall and 3-2 in region play. The Hounds’ two losses are by a combined 11 points.
The Greyhounds are essentially in a three-way tie for third in the region with Union Grove and Eagles Landing. JCHS has already beaten Union Grove and hosts Eagles Landing Oct. 25.
On paper, Jones County has gone through the toughest part of its region schedule, having played the other four teams ranked in the region’s top four.
But all of those future aspirations will have to wait, as the next task at hand is Friday with McDonough at Greyhound Field for homecoming. The Warhawks are 0-5 on the season.
“It’s a short week and short turnaround,” Chastain said. “We’ve got to go work and keep fighting. It doesn’t get any easier.”
The Greyhounds dug in early, ending one Tigers drive in Greyhound territory on a Zacarri Thomas interception with the other being halted early in the second when Jones County stopped the opposition on fourth and seven at the JCHS 40.
DJ Ingram led the Greyhound defense on Saturday with eight solo tackles and was one of four to have a tackle for a loss along with Javion Butts, Thomas, David Little and Corey Williams. Little and Williams also registered sacks.
That first-half defensive stop proved to be the opportunity that the Greyhounds needed to get on the board, as quarterback Devin Edmonds rolled out, finding Zach Hurt in the right corner of the end zone from 14 yards away as JCHS led 7-0 with 4:23 left in the half.
Neither team was close to finished getting into the end zone before the halftime break. After the Tigers’ ground game got going along with a strong push from its offensive line that would control the trenches for a good part of the day, the initial result was a drive to tie the score at 7-7 with 1:35 left in the half.
“We played a really athletic team. They’re really big up front, which posed some problems for us on a line of scrimmage that’s all under 200 pounds, and you have those guys going against guys that are 280 or 300 (pounds). It makes it tough,” Chastain said. “Leverage plays a big part, and on top of that they have some good skill guys that they can get the ball to.”
Then, it was Jones County’s turn. After a handful of quick out routes along the sideline start the scoring drive off, Jaivon Solomon took an Edmonds pass 41 yards for a 14-7 lead with 18 seconds remaining before halftime.
The Greyhounds kept the offensive pressure up coming out of halftime, going up 21-7 when Edmonds turned a quarterback keeper around the left side into a 36-yard touchdown run and 21-7 Greyhounds lead with 9:28 left in the third. Edmonds was 23-of-25 for 181 yards against the Tigers with Solomon being the leading receiver with seven catches for 101 yards.
Stockbridge, however, would rally. A pair of run-heavy scoring drives shrunk the Greyhounds’ lead to 21-19 seven seconds into the fourth quarter. And after a Cason Taylor punt was blocked out of the end zone for a safety with 10:36 to play, the score was knotted at 21-21.
JCHS got some good out of its own ground-game effort, using the balance of Thomas and Bruno Hicks running the ball to advance to the Stockbridge 25. Both combined to rush 14 times for 41 yards on Saturday.
It was there where the Greyhounds fortunes came undone. After a pass interference flag in the end zone on third and long was picked up by on-field officials, hopes of a threepoint lead failed as Jacob Watts field goal from 33 yards away was wide.
The miss ended up being a moot point.
After one of the Tigers few pass plays moved the ball near midfield on a hail mary throw, Stockbridge faced a fourth and one at the JCHS 31 with less than half a minute to go in the game. Rather than run the clock out, however, the Tigers won the game as a run off the left side got not just the first down but touchdown as well, giving the Hounds only a few seconds to work with. Edmonds was sacked as time ran out, prompting the Tigers to celebrate.
“Obviously, we’ve got to continue to get better in the trenches on both the offensive defensive sides of the ball,” Chastain said. “We’ll keep working hard there. We just have to keep grinding and getting better.”
