Leader sports editor
The freshmen Red Devil defense has dominated much of the year, and it came up with its biggest stop of the season on Thursday. Previously undefeated White Hall went for two after scoring late in the fourth quarter. A successful conversion would’ve put the Bulldogs up 15-14, but the Red Devil defense stuffed the play to help secure a 14-13 win and keep hope alive for a shot at the River City Conference championship.
“Defense has carried us all year,” Jacksonville coach Max Hatfield said. “They played lights out, and they won with heart last night. We left a lot of points out on the field, but they made up for it with their determination, their heart and good attitudes.”
There was still 2:54 left on the clock after the Bulldog touchdown, and they had no timeouts remaining. But the Red Devils gave the ball right back.
On first down from midfield, a screen pass was intercepted by a Bulldog interior lineman, who was brought down at the Jacksonville 45-yard line.
“That was a miscommunication,” Hatfield said. “We didn’t have a pass play called with the lead and them with no timeouts. We talked pretty earnestly about what to do next time we’re in that situation and you’re not sure of the play. We know next time to call a timeout.”
It turned out to not be a crucial mistake. The Red Devil defense did its job again, actually moving White Hall backwards 10 yards before taking over again on downs with seconds remaining. All that was left was for quarterback Greg Jones to take a knee in victory formation.
“It was a big win,” Hatfield said. “They knew they needed this one to stay in it. We made some mistakes but they stayed after it and came up with big plays when they needed them, especially on defense.”
Hatfield said much of the credit for the stalwart defense has been the help from high school coaches.
“Coach (Rick) Russell and coach (Larry) Burrows have worked with the defense all year long and it’s been good for everybody,” Hatfield said. “They get so much more instruction with more coaches out there, and it gets them ready for high school. They’ll know so much more when they get there. They’ll be way ahead of the game.”
While the offense wasn’t able to punch the ball in the end zone as much as it would have liked, it did control the football for most of the game.
The Red Devils got the ball to start the game and held the ball for six minutes before scoring on a 10-yard run by Jones. Jones had thrown a 34-yard touchdown pass earlier in the drive but it was called back for holding.
The Bulldogs took possession and got a first down on its first play, but punted on the second play of the second quarter. Jacksonville took the ball deep in its own territory and used up most of the rest of the half with another long drive that ended without a score.
The Red Devils took a 7-0 lead into intermission and got the ball to start the second half. After driving to the White Hall 35, a Bulldog stepped in front of a Red Devil receiver, picked off a Jones pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 7-7 midway through the third.
The Red Devils used up the rest of the quarter two minutes of the fourth on their next drive, which ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Kerry Knight.
David Aguire’s second successful PAT gave the Red Devils a 14-7 lead.
Jacksonville piled up 254 yards of offense. Jones completed 12 of 19 pass attempts for 139 yards.
The Red Devils rushed 24 times for 115 yards. Lamont Gause was the leading rusher with 40 yards on seven carries. Jarvis McChristian caught four passes for 45 yards to lead the receivers while Anthony Fields caught three passes for 38 yards.
Other River City games saw Sylvan Hills beat Watson Chapel 22-14, Robinson routed Bauxite 40-6, Maumelle beat Mills 24-6, CAC topped North Pulaski in a close one 22-12 and Sheridan shut out Pulaski Academy 24-0.
“Defense has carried us all year,” Jacksonville coach Max Hatfield said. “They played lights out, and they won with heart last night. We left a lot of points out on the field, but they made up for it with their determination, their heart and good attitudes.”
There was still 2:54 left on the clock after the Bulldog touchdown, and they had no timeouts remaining. But the Red Devils gave the ball right back.
On first down from midfield, a screen pass was intercepted by a Bulldog interior lineman, who was brought down at the Jacksonville 45-yard line.
“That was a miscommunication,” Hatfield said. “We didn’t have a pass play called with the lead and them with no timeouts. We talked pretty earnestly about what to do next time we’re in that situation and you’re not sure of the play. We know next time to call a timeout.”
It turned out to not be a crucial mistake. The Red Devil defense did its job again, actually moving White Hall backwards 10 yards before taking over again on downs with seconds remaining. All that was left was for quarterback Greg Jones to take a knee in victory formation.
“It was a big win,” Hatfield said. “They knew they needed this one to stay in it. We made some mistakes but they stayed after it and came up with big plays when they needed them, especially on defense.”
Hatfield said much of the credit for the stalwart defense has been the help from high school coaches.
“Coach (Rick) Russell and coach (Larry) Burrows have worked with the defense all year long and it’s been good for everybody,” Hatfield said. “They get so much more instruction with more coaches out there, and it gets them ready for high school. They’ll know so much more when they get there. They’ll be way ahead of the game.”
While the offense wasn’t able to punch the ball in the end zone as much as it would have liked, it did control the football for most of the game.
The Red Devils got the ball to start the game and held the ball for six minutes before scoring on a 10-yard run by Jones. Jones had thrown a 34-yard touchdown pass earlier in the drive but it was called back for holding.
The Bulldogs took possession and got a first down on its first play, but punted on the second play of the second quarter. Jacksonville took the ball deep in its own territory and used up most of the rest of the half with another long drive that ended without a score.
The Red Devils took a 7-0 lead into intermission and got the ball to start the second half. After driving to the White Hall 35, a Bulldog stepped in front of a Red Devil receiver, picked off a Jones pass and returned it 65 yards for a touchdown. The extra point made it 7-7 midway through the third.
The Red Devils used up the rest of the quarter two minutes of the fourth on their next drive, which ended with a 16-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Kerry Knight.
David Aguire’s second successful PAT gave the Red Devils a 14-7 lead.
Jacksonville piled up 254 yards of offense. Jones completed 12 of 19 pass attempts for 139 yards.
The Red Devils rushed 24 times for 115 yards. Lamont Gause was the leading rusher with 40 yards on seven carries. Jarvis McChristian caught four passes for 45 yards to lead the receivers while Anthony Fields caught three passes for 38 yards.
Other River City games saw Sylvan Hills beat Watson Chapel 22-14, Robinson routed Bauxite 40-6, Maumelle beat Mills 24-6, CAC topped North Pulaski in a close one 22-12 and Sheridan shut out Pulaski Academy 24-0.
