10/27/2018
Matthew Fuller
The final game of the season to determine the 4A regional champions took place on a brisk Friday night at an away field in Hokes Bluff. Both teams came to the gridiron with perfect records but one would leave the field with a 1 in the loss column. The Jacksonville Golden Eagles confidently took their place on the battle field while assessing their competition as The Hokes Bluff Eagles prepared to defend their home ground. The battle hardened team leaders met in the middle of the field for the coin toss to decide how this game would start. Hokes Bluff won and deferred to Jacksonville and the captains returned to their respective sides to engage in battle.
The first quarter was a battle of the defenders. Both teams’ defensive lines fought hard to keep the ball from moving forward and each yard was earned. The Hokes Bluff Eagles prove to have a strong defense however blocking each aggression made by Jacksonville. The hard hitting 1st quarter ended without either team putting number on the scoreboard.
During the 2nd quarter Hokes Bluff entered into the red zone and prepared for the first attempt at placing a score on the board. With pressure from the Jacksonville defense the field goal attempt failed and the score remained unchanged until 2:56 was left on the time clock. Hokes Bluff quarterback Gulledge saw an opening and ran the ball into the end zone. With the extra point being good Hokes Bluff was the first on the board making it 0-7. Jacksonville had possession of the ball and attempted a pass that was intercepted by Hokes Bluff. With only 2:30 remaining in the half, Hokes Bluff ran a handoff play into the end zone for their second touchdown of the game; with the extra point being good the score changed to 0-14. Ron Wiggins returned the kickoff to the Jacksonville 44 to set up the Golden Eagles for a strong drive. After three long completed passes between quarterback Luke Jackson and receiver Yessman Green, Jacksonville was able to get to the Hokes Bluff 2 yard line with 14.7 seconds remaining in the half. A handoff to Ron Wiggins resulted in a touchdown for Jacksonville. Instead of attempting the extra point, the Golden Eagles went for the 2 point conversion. Ron Wiggins was able to defeat the Hokes Bluff defense and run the ball into the end zone making the score 8-14.
In the Hokes Bluff opening drive of the 3rd quarter they were able to get into field goal range. The Eagles attempted to get the ball through the uprights but the attempt was no good leaving the score unchanged. During a Jacksonville drive #6, Yessman Green was injured on the Hokes Bluff sideline. After a few minutes he was assisted up by the trainer and coach and brought over to the Jacksonville bench with an apparent leg injury. The remainder of the quarter was a defensive battle and neither team was able to score.
With 11:53 left in the 4th, Luke Jackson passed to Jewels Gray for a completion in the end zone for the touchdown. Ron Wiggins powered through the Hokes Bluff defense to make the 2 point conversion and bringing the score to 16-14 with Jacksonville leading for the first time in the game. With 3:20 remaining in the game, a collision with fellow teammate Omarian Adams left Josh Bell injured on the field. He was later assisted off to the Jacksonville bench by the medical trainers and coaches. As the clock started running down, Hokes Bluff attempted a long pass into the end zone.
The receiver was unable to maintain control of the ball before he dropped it and it was called an incomplete pass by officials. Hokes Bluff was able to continue their drive and secured territory within field goal range. With only 8 seconds on the clock the Eagles attempted a field goal that came up short of the uprights making the Jacksonville Golden Eagles the 4A regional champions and still undefeated with a record of 10-0.
#4 Rontarious Wiggins stated ‘’we knew it was going to be a tough time playing this game so we had to come out and give it our all.’’ Also admitting ‘’at one point during the game it looked real bad when we were behind and I got a little down but I knew I just had to pick myself back up anyway and my teammates’’
Player #61, Demetrious Hamilton, who when ask how he felt about being regional champs stated ‘’I feel great man it’s so good because since day one, since day one we been working in the weight room, running, training, conditioning, and we did it all as a team’’ finishing his statements with a quick reference to his teammates saying ‘’I love my brothers man we all going to playoffs now’’
Player #7 Joseph Bolton had this to say when asked about how he felt coming into this game ‘’We knew it was going to be a hard fight, we’re both undefeated and it is just going to be all about who wants to fight harder to get it, and that was us.’’ He went on to say that ‘’I’m happy with the way every single one of us played I wouldn’t change anything.’’
#13 Jaeden Barksdale said his team ‘’has great momentum and nothing can stop us now but we still are going to take it one step at a time’’
Jewels Gray, #15, who made the game changing catch in the 4th quarter to make the score 16-14 said ‘’We felt anxious, to be honest we were all excited but nervous to make it to the regional championship status’’ but also making sure to let fans know ‘’now it’s all about resting up, working out and eating healthy and getting back in fighting shape for our next games’’
Veteran Player, Senior Cole Gaddy, #68, said ‘’we had a great week of practice so we felt good coming into this game but of course it’s their field so it’s always tough, but we managed and we played well’’ and discussing the future playoffs Gaddy said ‘’were gonna [sic] enjoy this one first before thinking about that too much, but we do need to start training and stepping up soon’’
When asked about how he felt coming into this game Coach Jamison Edwards said ‘’We felt prepared, we knew coming into this game it was going to be very physical and we knew it was going to be earned by hard work.’’ Coach Edwards talked about the topic of preparing for the playoffs saying ‘’we are absolutely prepared for the playoffs. Every game is a test and a challenge but you know going into the playoffs isn’t going to be any different than normal, it’s going to be like part two of this game right here. We are as prepared as we can be.’’
