Greyhounds offer glimpse at future in J-Day Srimmage
A few minutes around anyone associated with the Greyhound football program these days is likely to reveal apparel with the team’s current mantra of TOUGH.
Another layer of resilience showed itself Saturday as, after a short weather delay, Jones County concluded its spring practice during its J-Day spring intrasquad scrimmage at Greyhound Field as rain loomed nearby.
Whether it was players continuing to learn a new scheme and terminology or a coaching staff that’s been gradually being formed in the past four months, Saturday was the next step forward into a new era for the Greyhounds.
“We love football in the rain. We love football any time of the day,” Greyhounds head coach Justin Montgomery said. “Our guys really bought into that. We were able to pivot, and we’re glad we got it in.”
A scoring format with points awarded for defensive plays laid out a tangible incentive on both sides of the ball, and big plays were delivered as the split squads wearing either purple or white jerseys each put up in excess of 40 points, giving fans a taste of what will come when the season begins in August.
With spring practice in the rear-view mirror, the Greyhounds get a short break before a few weeks’ worth of work in June, which will precede the build-up toward preseason practice in July, leading into August.
“I was thankful that we didn’t have any major injuries. I felt like our guys were able to take what they learned and put it to the test,” Montgomery said. “We have some things we can work on and clean. I feel like we’re in a good place going into the summer.”
If there was one group that made an early statement on Saturday, it was the defense, which early on forced multiple three and outs and had two turnovers — a forced fumble and pick six, both by Andre Hall, who would later snag another interception.
And with a scoring system awarding six points for a turnover and three for a turnover on downs, the defensive side of the ball led 27-7 in the early going.
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Jones County’s offense, which rotated multiple quarterbacks with Travis Brock and Sammi Sands getting most of the work, eventually came up with big plays of their own.
After two early drives ended on a fumble and a missed field goal, the Greyhounds run game showed what it could have in store this fall.
Running back Brandon Jones was able to bounce the ball outside for a long touchdown run. Brock would engineer two more drives shortly, one ending on a two-yard run by Travis Miller and another on a pass to Drew Williams.
Jones gave the run game another score as the scrimmage continued, taking the ball in for the score from 18 yards away prior to Kaden Canty also scoring on a touchdown run. The scrimmage concluded with goal line situational work as Bruno Hicks, Miller and Jones scoring, capping off the morning and clearing the way toward the summer, a time in which Montgomery says there’s one key point of focus.
“Understanding the need for the details,” he said. “As we press in and go into the summer, that’ll be important, to know how to do things the right way.”
