JV Saints fall short in bid for District Championship
by Dana Newsom
Prentiss Christian School's Junior Varsity Saints have had an awesome season and hoped for the chance to call themselves District Champions. All they needed was one more win. The boys faced the Wayne Academy Jaguars of Waynesboro on Thursday, October 7, and both teams were playing for the title. Sadly, the PC boys fell short of their goal and ended the season with a 5-2 record.
The night looked promising when Prentiss Christian's Austin Herod ran the ball 20 yards on the opening kickoff before the Jags stopped him. Then, Jason Hinton had a 21 yard run on the first play, but on second down, the ball was fumbled and Wayne Academy recovered. Wayne took the ball into the end-zone on their first possession, but a Layke Daughdrill tackle prevented the 2 point conversion. The score was 0-6 early in the first quarter.
The Saints' next possession began on their own 39 yard line, but they were never able to move past midfield. A third down fumble in the backfield forced them to punt the ball back to the Jaguars who took possession on their own 48 yard line. Once again, Wayne Academy took the ball all the way for another touchdown, and once again, the Saints were able to stop the 2 point conversion with a tackle by Tanner Hathorn, Blake Lightsey, and Hunter Berry.
The Saints' third possession of the game ended with another fumbled snap that PC recovered, and they were forced to punt once again. However, on the Saints' fourth possession of the game, the boys finally looked like they were going to put together a scoring drive. The series began on the Saints' 43 yard line, and runs by Jason Hinton set up a 31 yard pass by Tanner Hathorn to Tyler Shivers who caught the ball on the Jags' 10 yard line. Hinton took the ball on the next play and was tackled in the backfield for a loss. Then, the ball was fumbled during a toss from Hathorn to Daughdrill, causing the Saints to lose 3 more yards. Hathorn attempted 2 passes to Shivers in the end-zone, both of which fell incomplete and the ball had to go back to the Jaguars.
The Jaguars fumbled on their next possession, and the Saints' Hunter Berry came up with the ball, giving PC another shot at a touchdown. Unfortunately, the ball was fumbled on second down with the Saints recovering, and again on third down with the Jags recovering on their own 46 yard line.
Wayne Academy took advantage of the Saints' fumble and managed to take the ball down the field once again for another touchdown. The 2 point conversion attempt was no good thanks to a Blake Lightsey tackle assisted by Tanner Hathorn.
The Saints did a better job retaining possession of the ball for the rest of the game, but they were never able to put together a scoring drive. The final score of the game was 0-18 in favor of Wayne Academy.
Offensively for the Saints, Jason Hinton carried 7 times for a total of 25 yards, and he returned 2 kickoffs for a total of 20 yards. Layke Daughdrill carried 5 times for 10 yards. Tanner Hathorn completed 4 of 10 pass attempts for 50 yards, and he threw 1 interception. Layke Daughdrill completed 1 of 2 pass attempts for a total of 12 yards, and Jason Hinton received 1 pass for 12 yards. Tyler Shivers received 1 pass for 31 yards; Adam McKenzie received 2 passes for 7 yards; and Wesley Daughdrill received 1 pass for 12 yards.
Defensively for the Saints, Kody Miller led with 8 tackles and 2 assists, and Layke Daughdrill had 5 tackles and 2 assists. Wesley Daughdrill and Tanner Hathorn had 4 tackles and 1 assist each. Austin Herod, Blake Lightsey, and Tyler Shivers each had 4 tackles. Adam McKenzie had 2 tackles with 2 assists, and Hunter Berry had 2 tackles and 1 fumble recovery. Brody Matthews had 1 tackle and 1 assist, and Jason Hinton had 1 tackle.
Prentiss Christian's Junior Varsity football team is to be commended for an excellent season. The ninth grade football players will be joining the varsity team for the end of their season, so look for them on Friday nights.