GREYHOUND FOOTBALL
Great things happened for the Greyhounds on Friday when the ball got into the hands of Tyler Stewart against Dutchtown. The result was not only a 35-28 win over the Bulldogs but also set up what will amount to a region championship on Oct. 27 at Warner Robins following this week’s open date.
Stewart caught four passes for 179 yards on Friday for the Greyhounds, and three of them were touchdowns as Dutchtown became the latest defense to have no answer for Stewart, who also notched a late interception for Jones County. Not only has Stewart caught at least one touchdown in every Greyhoundsgame this year, but he also has a combined nine in the past three games.
Stewart’s part of a varied receiving group for Jones County. Already with the speedster Zion Ragins and Jaivon Solomon on the field for opposing defenses to account for with Cohen Barfield among the others in the mix, opposing defenses cannot key on one receiver. The result of that was again shown with what Stewart did on Friday against Dutchtown.
“Zion just garners so much attention, and when they give all the attention to him, Tyler gets the one-on-ones and really makes the best of it,” Chastain said. “What’s crazy is we have another receiver, Jaivon Solomon, that’s awesome, too. I’d imagine Tyler will get more attention and Jaivon will be able to make some big plays.”
The win has Jones County (6-2), winners of five games straight, in position to win a region title next Friday at Warner Robins. Both teams are unbeaten in region play with Warner Robins playing Eagles Landing Friday, making it likely that both teams will go into next week with 4-0 region marks.
“We’ve got two weeks to prepare coming off a big win,” Chastain said. “It’s a good time for an open week and good time to prepare. Our guys are getting to roll.” One thing that differentiated Friday from those previous wins this season? Having to make plays late. In Jones County’s previous four wins, it had a margin of victory no smaller than 27 points. That changed dramatically during a physical contest in the midst of light rain and cooler temperatures.
“They got a chance to have a little adversity. When you come away from it on top, it’s always good,” Chastain said.
The first half went Jones County’s way. Up 7-0 on an 18-yard run by Ragins, who led the Greyhounds with 72 yards on 11 carries, went ahead 14-0 at the break when Devin Edmonds and Stewart hooked up for a 60-yarder, the first of three scores from Edmonds to Stewart against Dutchtown.
Up 21-7 on Stewart’s second touchdown of the night in the third quarter, Dutchtown got its running game going, especially on the outside. The result was the Bulldogs fighting back, tying things at 21-21 in the fourth quarter. Then, the Tyler Stewart Show took the stage for another act. Getting a pass in traffic, Stewart took Edmonds’ pass 66 yards for what was the go-ahead score to lead 28-21.
“Devin’s doing a great job for us,” Chastain said. “I’m really excited about how he is playing right now.”
As much as the offense put points on the board Friday, the Greyhounds defense, which got two first-half interceptions from Tay Lattimore, got another for Junior Holloway as he jumped the route and ran an interception back for a pick six.
“We’re really proud of our effort on defense right now. Our guys are doing a good job and playing extremely hard. That’s what I am really proud of. We’re more athletic on defense than we have been in the past,” Chastain said. “Playing with an offense like ours that is up-tempo, you get a lot of snaps, and scores don’t always show how good you are. Our defense is really doing a good job of carrying us.
I’m really proud of our defense right now.”
That, combined with the clock running toward the end, forced Dutchtown to throw the ball near the end, and Jones County prevented a big play to lock up the win with a defensive group where the defensive line was particularly active.
In addition to Jamarion Parker’s 17 tackles, two tackles for a loss and sack, defensive linemen Grayson Lundy had 13 tackles, and Omarion Tucker added a sack while linebacker Ched Smith’s one tackle for a loss was complemented by 14 tackles with defensive back Javion Butts having ten tackles.
