Tough Night for Hurricanes in 3AA Loss

It was a long ride for the Jasper County-Monticello High School football team last Friday as the Hurricanes ventured to Dodge County High School.

As long as the trip to Eastman was to face the Indians, the ride back probably seemed even longer.

The local squad (2-5 overall, 1-2 in region) ended up on the wrong end of a 58-0 Region 3-AA contest. A 43-point second quarter by Dodge County proved to be too much of an obstacle for the Hurricanes.

“At times we were outmanned but we also didn’t play up to our potential,” said coach Rydell Jackson. “We went out and played hard but clearly things did not go our way.”

Mac Barton passed for 83 yards in last Friday’s contest. For the season, Barton has now passed for 397 yards.

Shamarian Greene continued to be a main offensive weapon for the Hurricanes as he carried the football 17 times for 27 yards and caught two passes for seven total yards. Through seven games Greene has surpassed the 600-yard mark in rushing yardage.

On defense, Jacarion Grier recorded five solo tackles and four assists and now has 48 total tackles through seven contests. Barton added four solo stops and two assists against Dodge County increasing his season total to 27 tackles.

Jasper County-Monticello now has a much-needed bye week. Injuries have piled up since early in the season leaving the team thin in multiple areas.

“The bye week definitely comes at a good time,” Jackson said. “We are dealing with numerous injuries.”

The plan for this week in practice will be to scale back on contact and to look at improving in all areas.

“We have to concentrate on what we can do,” Jackson said. “Getting better in areas like blocking and tackling will be the keys for us the remainder of the season.”

The positive for Jackson’s squad is that they still have three games against region foes remaining. The team returns to action on November 6 with a home region game against Lamar County followed by a road game at Northeast-Macon and the regular season final at home on November 20 against Washington County.

“We still have a chance,” Jackson said. “It’s important for the players to remain focused and to keep looking ahead. There is nothing we can do about last week’s game now. We need to concentrate on the games we have in front of us.”

Several players have already had standout seasons for the Hurricanes.