(Clay Williams) They say good things come to those who wait, and that was certainly the case for the Jonesboro-Hodge Tigers during Thursday night’s 40-0 victory over the Lincoln Prep Panthers.
The contest was initially set for a 7:00 p.m. kickoff, but after a scheduling issue with the officials led to there being no referees at the stadium for the planned kickoff, it delayed the game until 8:20 p.m. That wasn’t the only situation that had to be dealt with either. When Lincoln Prep finally did kick-off to the Tigers there were three officials on the field, and only half of the stadium lights working, but nonetheless, the game was underway.
J-Hodge got the offense going quickly, involving QB Symeon Malone, RB Chance Leonard, and WR Christian McGuire in a balanced rushing attack to move all the way down the field for an opening drive 2-yard touchdown run by Malone
Early in the second quarter, the Tigers were looking for a big play when backed up on their own 18-yard line. On 3rd down Malone hit WR Da’Marious Burns on a quick pass across the middle, and then Burns juked his way past the Panthers defense for an 82-yard touchdown. The successful two-point keeper by Malone made it a 14-0 game.
After starting RB Chance Leonard went out due to a knee injury in the second quarter, J-Hodge leaned on the legs of their two QBs. With Malone and Dakota Knox lining up in the backfield together, the Tigers trusted their offensive line and drove down into the end zone with a slew of runs. The drive was capped off by Malone scoring his second keeper of the night to give the Tigers a 20-0 lead at halftime.
The story of the second half was the J-Hodge defense, who after giving up a school record 128 points in the first three games, made it clear that even though it was a short week, they were prepared for everything the Lincoln Prep offense had to offer.
Lincoln Prep quickly went 3-and-out on their opening drive, and then a bad snap on the punt set the Tigers up at the Panther’s 2-yard line. Karmekizik Barber joined the offensive equation by pounding his way in for another Tiger touchdown, and a 26-0 lead.
Later in the third quarter, the J-Hodge’s defense joined in the scoring act. Not once, but twice, and on consecutive Lincoln Prep offensive possessions. Dakota Knox, who was sniffing out the Panther passing attack all night long, was first to intercept a pass and score after rambling through a host of would-be tacklers for a 60-yard pick-six. Two plays later, cornerback Jaylin Barnes joined the fun by jumping a Lincoln Prep screen past and returning it 26 yards to the end zone for another Tigers defensive touchdown. This gave the Tigers a 40-0 advantage, which would be the final score in the end.
With the big fourth-quarter lead, Head Coach Terrance Blankenship used the opportunity to get numerous reserves onto the field, many of them getting varsity action for the first time in their high school careers.
JHHS not only dominated the scoreboard but the stat line as well. Malone led the Tigers offensive thrust with 70 yards on the ground and passed for another 115 more as the JHHS piled up 285 total yards Led by fierce defensive line play, JHHS forced three turnovers and allowed only 57 total yards including holding the Panthers to just 14 yards passing and 1.6 yards per carry on the night. The Tigers also allowed L-Prep to just one successful conversions of third and fourth down attempts
With the victory, Jonesboro-Hodge evens up their record to 2-2 on the season while Lincoln Prep fell to 1-3 on the year. The Tigers will be back on the road again this Friday, September 29th when they travel to D.C. “Bill” Bates Stadium to take on the 1-3 Pineville Rebels. Game time is set for 7:00 pm.
| TEAM | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | FINAL |
| JHHS (2-2) | 6 | 14 | 14 | 6 | 40 |
| LIncoln Prep (1-3) | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
1st Quarter: (JH) Symeon Malone 1 yd run (2 point NG)
2nd Quarter: (JH) Malone pass to Da’Marrious Burn for 82 yards (Malone run for 2-point conversion
2nd Quarter: (JH) Malone 2 yd run (2-pt run NG)
3rd Quarter: (JH) Karmekizik Barber 2 yd run (2-pt run NG)
3rd Quarter – (JH) Dakota Know 60 yd interception return (2 pt pass NG)
3rd Quarter – (JH) Jaylin Barnes 28 yd interception return (Barber 2 pt run)
| YARDSTICK | JHHS | L-PREP |
| First Downs | 16 | 6 |
| Rushing Yards | 170 | 43 |
| Passing | 115 | 14 |
| Total Yards | 285 | 57 |
| Third Down Conversions | 5/10 | 1/12 |
| Fourth Down Conversions | 0/3 | 0/3 |
| Turnovers | 1 | 2 |
| Penalties | 5/55 | 9/67 |
JHHS PLAYER STATS:
Passing:
#4 Symeon Malone – 5/7, 118 Yards, TD
Rushing:
#4 Symeon Malone – 8 Rushes, 70 Yards, 2 TDs
#2 Chance Leonard – 11 Rushes, 38 Yards
#3 Dakota Knox – 5 Rushes, 34 Yards
#9 Karmikizick Barber – 3 Rushes, 10 Yards, TD
#1 Za’Mauryian Palmer – 1 Rush, 6 Yards
#8 Christian McGurie – 1 Rush, 5 Yards
#13 Tysen Burks – 4 Rushes, -5 Yards
Receiving:
#7 Damarious Burns – 2 Receptions, 88 Yards, TD
#8 Christian McGuire – 2 Receptions, 27 Yards