The Jenkins Warriors scored three touchdowns in the first seven minutes and held on for a 28-12 win over the Liberty County Panthers at Donell Woods Stadium/Kirk Warner Field on Friday night.
The loss dropped the Panthers to 1-2 on the year and 1-1 in Region 3-AAA. Jenkins improved to 2-1 on the season and 2-0 in the region.
Liberty cut the lead to 20-12 with 5:47 to go on Jah’Barri Felix’s 20-yard fourth-down scramble for a score. The Warriors, though, held the Panthers on the two-point conversion, and Liberty could not mount another serious threat the rest of the way.
“The kids battled, and they played hard,” Panthers coach Tony Glazer said following the loss. “That’s a good football team. “They are very physically imposing, but our kids didn’t quit. We found some stuff on offense and the defense played its tail off.”
The Warriors iced the game with Ryan Scott’s 10-yard with 2:07 remaining.
Jenkins jumped on the board with Ke’von Jones’ 60-yard interception return less than two minutes into the game. There were three fumbles in the first six plays from scrimmage, in a steady rain that didn’t let up until late in the fourth quarter.
Jayaun Albert added a 14-yard run, and Demetrius Holloway found Trenton Rhodes for a 27-yard strike and a 21-0 lead.
The Warriors also rely on what was once all the rage in Georgia high school football but now has become somewhat of a relic offensively – the Wing-T. The Panthers defense held Jenkins scoreless for more than three quarters after the Warriors’ early burst.
“We knew they were going to line up in the Wing-T and use their size to run right at us,” Glazer said. “We did a good job of holding steady in there. It is true assignment football. You’re not looking for the ball – you’re reading your assignment. Everybody has to do their job.”
Elijah Brown’s 5-yard run got the Panthers on the board early in the second quarter.
Behind Brown’s dazzling 48-yard run, and Aaron Brown’s sideline catch to convert a third-down pass from Felix, the Panthers had first-and-goal at the Warriors 2-yard line to open the second half. But the Panthers were knocked for a loss on the next play, and fumbled on the ensuing play.
“We felt good at halftime. I felt we changed some of the momentum,” Glazer said. “We got all the way down there and didn’t score, but we still felt good. We were getting stops. We have a young football team and we will learn from tonight.”
Holloway finished 5-of-6 passing for 77 yards, and the Warriors added 252 yards rushing behind massive linemen Jasaiyah Boatright (6-foot-4, 310 pounds), Cam’ron Thompson (6-4, 285) and Ahmontae Crawford (6-5, 340). Scott led the way with 91 yards on 12 carries.
Liberty will travel to Long County on September 13 to take on the Blue Tide, a 38-6 winner over Groves on Thursday.
