Bob Jones bounces back for Homecoming win
BJHS Jay Rogers running for a touchdown
A week after a lopsided loss to Hazel Green, Bob Jones played their best half of football this season in front of a near capacity crowd at Madison City Schools Stadium. The 27-3 halftime lead over Huntsville was enough for the Patriots as the defense held the Panthers to 8 points in the second half.
Bob Jones head coach Kevin Rose handled all the distractions of homecoming week including leading his daughter Caitlyn on the field as a sophomore maid. His players finished off the special evening with a convincing 27-11 victory over non-region Huntsville.
“We were all business, we were very focused this week,” said Rose who is now 4-0 against Huntsville. “We bounced back from a disappointing loss last week and played very well tonight especially in the first half. We really ran the football well and did a good job blocking.”
Bob Jones got all the points they would need in the first half as they raced out to a 21-0 lead after a Kevin Wright 2-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter.
Early in the game a fake punt helped the Patriots keep alive their first drive. Three plays after Kevin Carter ran the fake for a first down Ben Washington scored on a 10-yard run.
The defense kept Huntsville’s power running game in check and forced a punt on their first possession. Jay Rogers did most of the work on the next drive rushing for two first downs before finishing it off with a 5-yard touchdown run. Rogers finished the game with 21 rushes for 103 yards.
Drew Davis’ interception and return set up Kevin Wright’s first touchdown.
After a 42-yard field goal by Huntsville, Jarek Taylor returned the kickoff into Huntsville territory to set up a quick 2 play drive as Chris Fletcher carried 22 yards to the 2 where Kevin Wright went in just before halftime to make it 27-3.
Bob Jones had 194 rushing yards in the first half and Trey Bates was 2 for 3 passing for 31 yards.
The Bob Jones defense had two fourth-quarter stands to deny Huntsville a touchdown including one on a first and goal from the eight. The Panthers finally got in the end zone with two minutes left in the game. The two point conversion was good.
“I thought we needed to build some confidence and we beat a good football team and hopefully that will be something we can build on,” Rose said. “It gets tougher next week against Decatur.”
Decatur defeated class 5A #1 ranked Hartselle Friday night.
Rose was pleased that Bob Jones cut down on penalties that plagued them last week against Hazel Green when they were flagged 14 times. The Patriots had only six against Huntsville.
Jay Rogers said the best way to get over the stinging loss last week to Hazel Green was to lead the offense and finish drives with touchdowns.
“There was a lot of pressure built up on us from last week when we got beat by a good football team. We brought that energy from last week and we played pretty well and got a good quality win.”
Rogers, still a junior, is beginning to hear from SEC teams and is now on the recruiting radar.
Bob Jones goes to 3-2, 2-1 in region play as they denied Huntsville their 500th win in the history of their program.
