No score was kept, but at the end, the Jonesboro-Hodge High School football coaching staff had to feel like a victory was gained in the annual Spring Scrimmage, where the Tigers squared off against visiting Madison High Schoolon Friday. 

The determination didn’t come as result of scoring more touchdowns than the opponent but rather the effort that the squad of Tigers gave, resulting in optimism being held for the 2025-26 LHSAA football season that will kickoff this fall.

“As we always expect, there were several things that we could have done better and will need to work on,” said JHHS head coach Terrance Blankenship. “Overall, though our staff was pleased with the effort given by the team and we are excited about what our possibilities are next fall.”

Played under a controlled format of having the first-string offense play against the opponent’s team defense for a set number of plays  and then doing the same with each team’s second stringers, the Tigers looked crisp despite having only a few days of practice leading up to the contest.

“Although we are short on numbers again this year, we have a number of players returning who gained a tremendous amount of experience last year and for the most part they showed they were comfortable with their assignments,” said Blankenship. 

This was especially true of returning quarterback Dakota Knox and running back Landon Boston on offense and linebacker Maurice Baker, all who drew praise for their play.

“We have good leadership on both sides of the ball,” commented Blankenship. “I dont know how the season ahead will play out, but I believe if the guys continue to work hard this summer we have the opportunity to be succesful this fall.”