By RAY BENTON
Leader sports editor
A close game at halftime turned into a blowout win for the Jacksonville Red Devils; as they pick up their first win of the season 44-6 at J.A. Fair.
The Red Devils led just 7-6 until Malcolm Crudup scored from 3 yards out with 1:24 left in the first half to give Jacksonville a 13-6 lead. The Red Devils went on to score 31 unanswered points in the second half.
Jacksonville forced a three-and-out to start the second half, then got a break on its first possession. The War Eagles were called for roughing the kicker on a Jacksonville punt on fourth and 11. Four plays later, Robert Knowlin scored from 13 yards out and added the two-point conversion to make it 21-6 with 3:26 left in the third quarter.
The Jacksonville defense sent Fair backwards 10 yards on the next possession, and took over on its own 48 after an Eagle punt.
On the fourth play of the drive, quarterback Rowdy Weathers hit Stevie Eskridge for a 23-yard scoring strike, and Tyler Hooper added the extra point with 38 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Jacksonville’s Nate Rob-bins turned in a monster fourth quarter. He caught a blocked punt in the air and returned it to the Fair 9-yard line early in the fourth, but Jacksonville failed to score.
The War Eagles took over on downs at their own 9. On third and 12 from the 7, Robbins broke into the Fair backfield on a sweep, and tackled the pitch man in the end zone for a safety to make it 30-6 with 7:28 left in the game.
On the ensuing possession, Crudup ran 24 yards on the first play to the War Eagle 26.
Weathers then found Shawn Ellis for a 13-yard gain, and hit Jonathan Hall for another 13 yards and a touchdown.
Hooper added the extra point to make it 37-6 with 5:30 remaining.
On Fair’s next possession, The Red Devils block another punt. This time Robbins scooped and scored for the final touchdown of the game with 4:03 remaining.
Jacksonville also scored on the game’s opening possession with its most impressive drive of the season.
The Red Devils went 91 yards in 15 plays, with Knowlin scoring from 4 yards out with 4:02 left in the first quarter.
Jacksonville’s next possession went 8 plays to the Fair 17, but ended with a sack on fourth and 11.
The Red Devils turned it over on downs again and Fair cut the margin to 7-6 on the ensuing possession with the help of a pass interference call.
The Jacksonville defense held the War Eagles to just 31 total yards. Fair rushed 25 times for 9 yards, including sack yardage, and competed 3 for 11 pass attempts for 22 yards.
Jacksonville compiled 348 total yards, 233 on the ground and 115 through the air. Crudup led the way with 19 carries for 150 yards and a touchdown.
Weathers completed 4 of 4 pass attempts for 77 yards and two touchdowns to lead Jacksonville in passing.
Jacksonville (1-0, 1-3) hosts Beebe (0-1, 1-3) on Friday for homecoming.
