’Canes Shock Jackson, Win 57-35

Last Friday night the ‘Canes traveled to Jackson to take on the Red Devils. The Red Devils are a 3A school and have the history of being a football powerhouse. Our ‘Canes beat Jackson, and that’s something we haven’t done in more than a decade. It was indeed a great night to be a Hurricane!

The ‘Canes lost the opening toss and were forced to begin on defense.

Jackson was set up for a great return, but with outstanding hustle it was stopped by Jordan Stewart. Unfortunately, two minutes later, the Red Devils scored their first touchdown of the game, making the score 7-0 Red Devils.

The ‘Canes started out strong on their first offensive drive, Cavender completed a pass to McMichael for a first down. Not even a minute later, Cavender threw the ball to Thomas in stride, and Thomas turned it up, and took it to the house for 56 yards.

The ‘Canes unfortunately missed the extra point attempt, so the score was 7-6 Red Devils.

The Red Devils made a great return and took it to the house for a touchdown, and made the extra point. Now the score was 14-6 Jackson.

Midway through the first, Standifer made a great 4th down tackle causing the Red Devils to turn the ball over on downs.

The ‘Canes next offensive drive, however, was kind of quiet, but Jordan Stone picked up a first down on one sequence, but was later forced to punt.

Garrison Williams made a great tackle on the Red Devils running back with 5:51 remaining in the first. The ‘Canes forced the Red Devils to punt, giving us the ball with great field position. With 3:36 remaining in the first, Tra Jackson made a big run for 56 yards.

Later in the first, Julius Matchett recovered an offensive fumble giving the ‘Canes another 1st down. Unfortunately, the ‘Canes were unable to score; so the score remained 14-6 Jackson at the end of one.

The ‘Canes still had the ball starting the second quarter. Just 11 seconds into the quarter Cavender completed a nice pass to Thomas, with Thomas being stopped in the red zone. About a minute later, Jordan Stone made a short run for a touchdown, making the score now 14-12 Jackson.

With 8:29 on the clock, Cavender completed another 1st down to Thomas. Later, the ‘Canes decided to go for it on 4th down. Quarterback Cavender made a great pass to Standifer, giving the ‘Canes a 1st down. Cavender handed the ball off to Tra Jackson, and Jackson took it to the 2 yard line. With 7:21 remaining, Stone again punched it into the end zone for his second touchdown of the night. The ‘Canes took the lead for the first time, 18-14.

As the ‘Canes returned on defense, Matchett and Standifer did a great job of breaking up a pass. With 6:21 left in the half, McMichael caught an interception, and took it back the other way, giving the ‘Canes great field position. Cavender made a short pass to Stone, and Stone ran for the 1st down. With 4:38 left in the half, Stone scored his third touchdown of the evening. The ‘Canes decided to go for 2, and the ‘Canes converted with a short pass from Cavender to Standifer, leaving the score 26-14.

With two minutes left in the quarter, the ‘Canes were forced to punt again. With outstanding hustle from freshman Jay Johnson who recovered the fumbled punt, the ‘Canes had the ball with great field position. They ended the half on top, 26-14.

Unfortunately, the ‘Canes started the second half with a fumble. Two minutes into the quarter, the Red Devils scored and made the score 26-20. With 8:35 left in the third, the Red Devils scored another touchdown, and gave Jackson its first lead of the second half.

You may have thought that the game was starting to change and be in Jackson’s favor. But Thomas made a great return, taking the ball all the way down to the Red Devils’ 28. With 6:52 remaining in the third, Cavender completed another touchdown pass to McMichael. With a 2 point conversion completion from Cavender to Standifer, the ‘Canes led again, 34-28.

Later in the third, Cavender completed another touchdown pass to Thomas, and another two point conversion attempt made by Tra Jackson.

To start the fourth quarter, Cavender made a short pass to Stone, and Stone took it for another 1st down. Tra Jackson ran for 32 yards. With 11:32 remaining in the fourth, Jackson punched it into the end zone for his first touchdown of the evening. Another 2 point conversion was completed with a short pass from Cavender to Standifer. The score now was 50-28 ‘Canes.

To wrap up the game for the ‘Canes, Stone scored another great touchdown for 60 yards, giving the ‘Canes their last touchdown of the evening. The Canes attempt an extra point kick to end the game, and Yes, It’s good! The score was 57-28.

Nevertheless, the Red Devils scored another touchdown ending the game with your ‘Canes 57 and Red Devils 35.

Running Back Jordan Stone said, “We played a great game, but we must weave out some mistakes before we start region play against Northeast Macon.”

After the game Head Coach Roberts said, “I am very proud of the players; they worked hard, ran the offense very efficient, and we must get healthy on our off week, so we will be ready for Northeast Macon to began region play.”

The ‘Canes are off this week, and their first region game will be on Friday, Sept. 27 against Northeast Macon. As the ‘Canes travel to take on the Raiders in Macon, come out and support your Hurricanes. Go ‘Canes!

STATS vs. Jackson

•Jacob Cavender: 23 completions for 294 yards and 3 touchdowns.

•Tra Jackson: 21 rushes for 160 yards and 1 touchdown.

•Jordan Stone: 11 rushes for 105 yards and 4 touchdowns.

•John Davis 5 rushes for 25 yards.

•John Sims: 3 rushes for 3 yards.

•Walt McMichael: 4 catches for 54 yards and 1 touchdown.

•Quincy Standifer: 5 catches for 37 yards.

•Lane Thomas: 5 catches for 124 yards and 2 touchdowns.

•Jordan Stewart: 1 catch for 12 yards.

•Julius Matchett: 1 catch for 7 yards.