By DAN ELLIOTT
Special to The Leader
The first half was the best of the times and ultimately, the worst of times for the Jacksonville Red Devils (0-2) as they jumped out to an early lead before the wheels fell off in a 41-14 loss to the Benton Panthers 1-1) at Jan Crow Stadium Friday night.
The Red Devils looked poised early in the contest when Aaron Smith took the opening kickoff back 50 yards deep into Benton territory, giving Jacksonville great starting field position at the Panthers 30. Three plays later, Cortez Brownrumbled 10 yards to put Jacksonville up 6-0 at the 10:33 mark.
Jacksonville controlled the ball most of the first quarter while Benton sputtered early on offense. As the Second Quarter began, Benton found their identity as they put together a 14-play, 80-yard drive that resulted in a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Dylan Harris to Desmond Mauldin, giving the Panthers a 7-6 lead.
After a three and out on their next possession, Jacksonville shanked a punt, giving Benton great field position in Red Devils territory and eventually leading to a Wallace Foote 4-yard touchdown run and a 14-6 Panthers lead with 1:28 left in the first half.
Disaster struck Jacksonville in the final moments of the first half as Benton took advantage of a mishandled punt attempt which lead to a Benton score, followed by another turnover and an 11-yard touchdown strike from Harris to Mauldin, giving the Panthers control of the contest with a 28-6 halftime lead.
“Offensively and defensively, we played pretty hard,” said Jacksonville coach Rick Russell. “After a turnover and a couple of missed tackled, (Benton) got the momentum and they started believing they could win and we started doubting, so it just snowballed downhill.”
The Red Devils attempted to fuel a comeback at the beginning of the third quarter as Benton muffed the opening kickoff and Jacksonville recovered on the Panthers 34-yard line. Tirrell Brown hit Jacarius Brown for 22-yards and found the endzone on the next play, a 12-yard touchdown to Kevin Richardson to cut the Benton lead to 28-14 with 11:26 left in the quarter.
Benton controlled the clock much of the quarter and added two field goals in the fourth quarter to put the contest out of reach.
“We have to stay in the ballgame both physically and mentally for the full 48 minutes,” added Russell. “When a sudden change occurs, we have to find a way to get over that and come back ready to play the next possession.”
On the evening Benton quarterback Dylan Harris passed 235-yards, with 19 completions on 34 attempts. Running back Wallace Foote lead the ground attack with 69 yards on 18 carries while Red Devils quarterback Tirrell Brown managed 115 yards through the air. Kevin Richardson was Brown’s favorite target as the junior flanker hauled in five receptions for 65 yards and a score.
“We have to start believing in ourselves for more than a quarter, it has to be for a full game,” added Russell. “We have to stay true to our game plan, out blocking assignments and pass routes while polishing some things up. We have to work on the negatives and not get down on ourselves.”
Jacksonville tries to improve on a slow start to the 2011 campaign when they host the Hot Springs Trojans next Friday night with a 7 p.m. kickoff.
