Patriots Take Down Grace Christian in Opener, 31-14

Published by Jake Depew, Assistant Editor on August 20, 2016.
Published under JCHS Sports
Tags: front

Staff Photo by Angie Stanley

Coach Riley’s official Jefferson County Football Head Coach regular season debut had the team traveling to Knoxville to face off against Grace Christian Academy. In front of a huge crowd, including many who made the trip from Jefferson County to support their team, it was now time for the Jefferson County High School Patriots to show off the benefits of the hard work they have been putting in all summer.

Though the first half proved to be a slight struggle for the Patriots’ running game, the defense built a wall around the Rams’ offense. Throughout the first half of play, the Patriot D-Line stopped the Ram from scoring in the red zone three times. After intercepting the ball twice, forcing multiple turnovers, and all-around playing some aggressive football, the tough defense paved the way for the Patriots to shine. The first half ended with a score of 7-0 in the Patriots favor.

Halftime must have lit a fire in Jefferson County’s offence, as early in the third quarter they started to pull away from the Rams. Bryson Sexton proved the guns he was carrying as he completed a 20 yard pass to Haney, putting the Patriots on the scoreboard once again to make the score 14-0.

The Rams tried, and failed, to take advantage of having the ball after the play. With the Patriots’ defense proving to be too tight to overcome, the Rams resorted to attempt a fake punt, which failed. That set the Patriots up to score once again, but they were unable to move the ball on the drive, and were limited to a field goal. Patriots were then up 17-0.

Jefferson County acquired the ball once again, and ended the drive on the board once more. After Blake Taylor made it into the endzone, the play was called back. Michael Ealy came up on the other end of the endzone, successfully. The Patriots ended the third quarter 24-0.

During the fourth quarter the Rams showed that they were not going down without a fight. Finding a hole in the Patriot defense, the Grace Christian Rams put numbers on the board by finding the endzone twice. The Patriots had an answer in the form of one final touchdown by quarterback Bryson Sexton. Final score for the night was 31-14.

The focus for the Patriots now shifts to the home opener against Carter High School. The game is set at Jefferson County High School Friday night, with a kickoff time of 7:30.