On the heels of not being able to play the week before due to their Homecoming game being abruptly canceled the Jonesboro-Hodge Tigers were anxious to take the field for Senior Night this past Friday night vs the Glenbrook Apaches. They weren’t so quick in wanting to leave.

Long will be remembered the night that head coach Terrance Blankenship and his undermanned squad of 28 Tigers pulled off one of the more stunning victories in his 12 year career, a thrilling 30-29 upset that can only be described as an instant classic. 

The contest was climaxed when trailing by a 29-22 margin with only 30 seconds left in the game, J-H quarterback Dakota Knox found Landon Boston across the middle for a 17 yard touchdown. That brought the Tigers to within one point and also brought forth what seemed to be a critical decision.

Go for the win or the tie.

According to Coach “Blank” as the Tiger head man is fondly called, it was really no decision to be made at all.

“We haven’t kicked an extra point all year,” laughed Blankenship following the game. “Really the only decision that had to be made was what 2-point conversion play we were going to run.”

That also was sort of a “no-brainer”.

“At that point, I wasn’t going to put the ball in anyone’s hands other than Dakota’s (Knox),” said Blankenship. “All year he has been our best runner and I knew that especially in that instance, he would be hard to bring down.”

He was. Knox didn’t fall to the turf until determinedly powering through three would be tacklers in the endzone for the “win or lose” 2-point conversion effort setting off a wild celebration along the Tiger sideline and in the stands. 

Before the contest the four senior players on the team, Christian McGuire, Samuel Combs, Ken’Wuan Atkins and Zemauryian Palmer along with managers Tyya Davis, Angel Moss, LeRonda McQuire and cameraman Houston Cox were honored on the field for their contribution.

The victory helped JHHS improve their overall record to 3-6 and 3-2 in district 1-1A play and more importantly vaulted the Tigers from #26 to #18 in the LHSAA Division IV power rankings, all but securing a playoff berth. Glenbrook, fell from the undefeated ranks in district play with their first loss in five games and dropped to 5-2 overall. 

After J-Hodge deferred the opening kickoff Glenbrook methodically marched down the field with their power run game on a 10 play, 75 yard to take a quick 7-0 lead. While the Tiger defense came out a little rusty from the 14-day hiatus, that was NOT the case for the offense.

With a fresh new offensive look of quarterback Dakota Knox in an empty backfield, J-H used a mixture of quick crossing patterns by the wide receivers and some designed QB runs to have the Apache defense scrambling for answers. JHHS moved from their own 30 yard line to the Glenbrook 27 where on fourth down, Knox connected Christian McGuire for a touchdown to narrow the deficit to 7-6.

Glenbrook’s next drive saw a little more resistance from the J-H defense, which led to the Apaches having to settle for a 33-yard field goal attempt. As he has all year long, senior Ken’Wuan Atkins stepped up to make a momentum changing play by blocking the field goal to keep it a one-point game.

Staying true to the theme of senior night, Dakota Knox leaned on receivers ZeMauryian Palmer and Christian McGuire to get down the field quickly and set up shop at the Glenbrook 7-yard line. For what would be the only time the entire game, Knox got under center with Marquise Baker in his fullback position pushing him into the endzone for a touchdown. Knox scrambled in for the two-point conversion to make it a 14-7 Tigers lead.

Glenbrook responded with a touchdown drive of their own to knot things up at 14-11 with 8:43 remaining in the second quarter. As they have all season long, the Apaches attempted an onside kick that the Tigers recovered at the Glenbrook 47-yard line.

“We knew coming in that we were going to have to be prepared for that as this is something they have done all year long,” explained Blankenship. “I thought our guys did very well all game along, which ended up being important as by recovering the kicks gave us great field position.”

That field position proved to be very valuable on the very next play. Knox took the snap and burst through a hole on left side to easily sprinted past every defender for a 47-yard touchdown run. Knox then found “Z” Palmer in the back of the endzone for the two-point try to give J-Hodge a 22-14 lead into halftime.

As all good teams do, Glenbrook made some adjustments in the locker room, and they came out looking sharp. Their defense started to load the box and send pressure trying to throw Knox off his game. The J-Hodge offense couldn’t get much going in the 3rd quarter, and Glenbrook went back to leaning on their power run game to tie the game up at 22-22 heading into the final frame.

Glenbrook regained the lead at 29-22 early in the final quarter and seemingly was beginning to take control, having outscored J-H 15-0 in the second half with the clock now ticking down the final minutes. 

But as we’ve seen all year long, these Tigers never give up.

Once again, Glenbrook started driving down the field with less than 5 minutes to go, and J-H was desperate for a stop. Facing a 3rd and 5 near midfield, Glenbrook faked a handoff and dropped back for a pass but Tiger defensive stalwart Ken’Wuan Atkins got past the offensive line and was in the quarterback’s face immediately to bring him down for a pivotal sack. After a short punt, Jonesboro-Hodge would get the ball with 3:16 left on their own 46-yard line.

While it was senior night, that didn’t stop freshman Ja’Marlon Johnson from coming through when it mattered most. On a critical 3rd and 4 situation with the clock under 2 minutes, Johnson outfought two defenders for a 12 yard gain to pick up a much needed first down.

Two plays later, another big 3rd down occurred from the Glenbrook 29-yard line. Knox took matters into his own hands and bulldozed his way over Apache defenders for an 11-yard gain, just enough for the first down.

With the clock now at 34 seconds remaining, J-Hodge faced yet another pivotal 3rd down. All game long, JHHS had run an unusual offensive set, having Knox in an empty backfield. Once again, the Tiger braintrust pulled another surprise, lining up three receivers tightly bunched on the right side of the line. The scheme worked to perfection as Knox found Landon Boston wide open across the middle allowing for an easy waltz into the end zone untouched for the score.

“We figured that would be a great play for us as we had already seen that they were most vulnerable to a pass over the middle,” reflected Blankenship. “It was a big play, probably our biggest play of the year.” 

That set up the “do-or-die” two point conversion attempt where Knox lined up in the shotgun, got the snap, ran right, and met three Apache defenders at the two-yard line. There was absolutely no way Knox was going to go down without reaching that end zone, and he fought his way over the goal line for a successful two-point conversion giving J-H a 30-29 lead with 30 seconds remaining.

Glenbrook only had time to run three desperation plays, all of which hopelessly fell incomplete, the final one as time expired. After the game the players and cheerleaders started storming the field to celebrate the improbable victory! The stadium was still rocking as the “Tropical Thunder” Tiger marching band led the traditional singing of the alma mater that on this night was joyously being voiced.

In retrospect it was the perfect conclusion to the final home game of the regular season and perhaps for the season in total. While there have been many hardships that have had to be faced, the Tigers once again showed their resiliency and determination to overcome the obstacles.

The Tigers are on the road next Friday for the regular season finale, taking on the Cedar Creek Cougars. Kickoff will be at 7:00 on Friday night in Ruston.

TEAM	1	2	3	4	FINAL
JHHS (3-6-3-2)	6	16	0	8	30
Glenbrook (5-2, 4-1)	7	7	8	7	29

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