By By Ryan Satcher/staff writer
September 6, 2003
FLOWOOD Jackson Prep proved on Friday night that big plays can make the difference in high school football.
The Patriots used three huge plays, including two trick plays in the first half, and depth to knock off the Raiders of Lamar School 38-13 in MPSA Class AAA football.
After being held for no first downs for most of the first quarter, the Patriots pulled their first trick play out on the Raiders.
On third-and-11, Tait Hendrix came around on a tight end reverse and dropped back to pass and found Swayze Waters on the left sideline. Waters pulled the reception in and finished off the 83-yard touchdown reception to make the score 7-0 with 23 seconds left in the first.
Jackson Prep followed with a solid 10-play drive on its next possession and settled for a 30-yard field goal by Hunter Owen to make the score 10-0.
Lamar took back some momentum in what looked to be the final drive of the half. The Raiders moved the ball down the field and scored as Lane Rush finished off the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. The extra point by Tommy Edgerton made the score 10-7 with 1:11 left in the half.
The Patriots decided to take back the momentum in the final minute of the half and used a trick play to do it.
On their first play, quarterback Joseph Queen hit Waters with a short pass and Waters pitched the ball to Chase Thompson on the hook-and-lateral play. The play resulted in 46 yards and two plays later Jackson Prep found the endzone on a 15-yard reception by Thompson to make the score 17-7 at half.
Jackson Prep came out in the second half and used another big play to continue to gain momentum. Hendrix took a pitch off the right side and looked to be going down after a good gain. The 6-foot junior kept his feet moving, however, and broke loose to score on what turned out to be a 50-yard run.
With the score 24-7, the Patriots powered the ball using great depth. Jackson Prep drove the ball down the field in eight plays and scored on an eight-yard run by Ryan Peets to stretch the lead to 31-7 with 1:58 left in the third.
The Patriots added a touchdown as Queen ran in from seven yards out to make the score 38-7.
Lamar continued to battled and final got the ball moving in the fourth quarter. Randy Boyd Thompson broke off a 24-yard run to move into Jackson Prep territory.
Rush followed with a 32-yard touchdown run on the very next play to make the final score 38-13.
The run by Rush capped off a very good night for the senior. He rushed for 117 yards on 13 carries. He scored both Lamar touchdowns and also caught a 15-yard pass.
With the loss, the Raiders drop to 2-1 for the year and 0-1 in division play. Lamar will be back in action Friday when it hosts Columbia Academy.