Road woes bite Patriots in historic loss to Muscle Shoals
Muscle Shoals running back Jamarcus Nance scoots through Bob Jones in Thursday night action
Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose knew his team would have their hands full Thursday night when they traveled to face the #1 ranked team in 5A, Muscle Shoals. But he had no idea just how bad it would get as his alma mater, rolled over Bob Jones 38-6.
It was the largest margin of defeat for Bob Jones in the Kevin Rose era. To make matters worse, Bob Jones suffered some key injuries just a week before the playoffs start.
Linebacker Nick Holman left the game in the first half with a knee injury and did not return. Running back Kevin Wright suffered a thumb injury in the second half and also did not return. Their status for the playoff game will be determined next week.
“It was certainly not what we wanted,” Rose said after the game. “They’ve got an awfully good football team and they played very well. Obviously we have got a lot of things to work on next week. Our team has played well at home and we will be at home next week to open the playoffs against a very talented Gadsden City team. We will go back and regroup and come back with a better effort next week and try to win a playoff game.”
By early in the fourth quarter, trailing 38-0, Rose began pulling his starters. Seth Parker led the Patriots only scoring drive of the game late in the fourth quarter with backup running back Kevin Carter doing most of the work. Carter ended up the leading rusher for Bob Jones with 75 yards on 10 carries. His 1-yard run for a touchdown came with 30 seconds left in the game.
The score avoided a shutout which would have been the first since Huntsville shutout Bob Jones 14-0 in the 2008 playoffs.
Stopped on their first possession of the game, Bob Jones tried a fake punt but it fell short of the first down and Muscle Shoals took over. Trojans quarterback Ryan Ware ran the option effectively all night as Muscle Shoals scored on their first 3 possessions to take a 17-0 lead after one quarter. Ware had a 5 yard touchdown pass to Tyler Jackson and a 5-yard touchdown run himself for the early lead.
Bob Jones’ deepest penetration in the first half was inside the Muscle Shoals 10-yard line but a pass in the corner of the end zone was ruled out-of-bounds and that forced a field goal attempt that was blocked.
Bob Jones defense stood strong late in the second quarter and finally forced a punt. Auburn commit Dee Liner and his friends on the Muscle Shoals defense stopped Patriot runners for short gains all night. Kevin Wright rushed for 37 yards on 10 carries and Jay Rogers had 67 yards on 17 carries. The passing game went nowhere as quarterback Trey Bates was off the mark on most of his throws. He finished 5 of 13 passing for 17 yards.
To make matters worse, Bob Jones fumbled a kickoff in the third quarter to give Muscle Shoals the ball right back after a touchdown by Tyler Jackson, one of three he had in the game. Jackson rushed for 116 yards on 10 carries and his backfield mate, Jamarcus Nance had 82 yards on 20 carries. Muscle Shoals rolled up 337 yards rushing in the game.
The effort put Tyler Jackson over the 1,500 yard rushing mark this season. He was coming off a 232-yard game against Cullman in week 9.
Rose said playing Muscle Shoals and seeing their speed “is going to help us when we play Gadsden City. We are going to see similar type offense and we will be ahead of the game.”
The win put Muscle Shoals at 10-0 to complete the school’s first perfect season while Bob Jones finished 7-3 with all 3 losses coming on the road.
