GREYHOUND FOOTBALL
The final step prior to down time followed by summer workouts for teams across Georgia is a spring scrimmage, which includes goals to do multiple things well to put a final bow on spring practice.
Jones County came away satisfied following Friday’s spring game against Veterans at Greyhound Field, moving the ball with a degree of ease and also coming up with multiple defensive turnovers.
“We’re really proud of our guys for playing hard; we have a veteran team that has experience. They’ve been around and played a lot of ball, and we expect good things from them,” Greyhounds head coach Mike Chastain said. “We’re proud of how they competed the whole time. Hopefully, that will carry over to a good summer.”
Spring games are not just about showing what returning starters can do but also what second- and third-team units offer, filled with players aiming to moving up from limited roles to taking on more going into the fall. It’s for that reason that Chastain and Veterans head coach Josh Ingram agreed beforehand to not keep score, although a clock was kept. And as the Greyhounds head coach notes, those on the sidelines and the stands likely kept track of the score on their own accord.
“We’re just trying to evaluate players and all areas; we really don’t care what the score is. It’s just something that me and Coach Ingram talked about, just to keep the scoreboard off,” Chastain said. “The players kind of know in their mind, but we’re not trying to have a winner and loser, so to speak. It’s just a chance to give our fans something to watch and cheer for.
You can probably ask anyone in the stands, and they can tell you what the score was. In the spring game, you’re just trying to create a good atmosphere.”
That score, unofficially, was 49-21 in favor of Jones County with Judd Anderson throwing three touchdowns, Devin Edmonds letting it rip for two and the JCHS defense, with new defensive coordinator Will Conner at the helm, coming up with two unofficial interceptions by Tay Lattimore and Junior Holloway as well as a scoop and score by Daniel Hawk.
Both Anderson and Edmonds have little trouble connecting on big plays, Edmonds on a 70-yard slant to Kaden Johnson before later hooking up from 24 yards away to Jaivon Solomon. Johnson would haul in a 61-yarder in the second half of the scrimmage from Anderson, whose first score was to Tyler Stewart in the corner.
Third-string quarterback Cason Taylor also rotated in, getting key time that will pay off not only for the short term but also in the longer run as well along with others up and down the roster. It all came on a night where the home side filled in nicely on what was as close to a Friday night at Greyhound Field that awaits in the fall with the sidelines flanked by Jones County’s football cheerleaders and with the Marching Greyhounds in the stands.
“I thought we had a really good crowd. We probably had more than 1,000 people there, and that’s phenomenal for a spring game,” Chastain said. “When you come to Jones County to play, our fans are going to come out and support our guys. You can’t beat our fans.”
Jones County opens the season Aug. 19 against Northside in the Macon Touchdown Club Middle Georgia Kickoff Classic at Mercer and hosts Dacula Aug. 25. JCHS also scrimmages at Buford Aug. 11.
