Bob Jones has no answers for Florence running attack
Florence quarterback Blake Hawkins finds running room against Bob Jones
(Contributed/Tammie Stephenson)
MADISON- On homecoming Bob Jones gave their fans what they wanted for one half. But once Florence got rolling on offense the Falcons pulled away to claim a 36-29 victory. It was their first win over Bob Jones since 2007.
“It’s disappointing but we had a chance to win at the end,” said Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose. “We had a lot of adversity we had to overcome. They came out the second half and got hot and hurt us in the rushing game. We will go back to work and try to get better.”
It was a story of two halves. At halftime Bob Jones was leading 21-7 but there were serious concerns.
Quarterback Jeremy Frye went out of the game with an ankle injury in the second quarter. He was on crutches and did not return to the field the second half.
Frye was having an excellent game. He was 12 for 12 passing for 95 yards and rushed six times for 41 yards. He threw a 20-yard touchdown pass to Jonathon Rice to put Bob Jones up 7-0.
A.J. Harris then intercepted a Florence pass and raced 47 yards for another Bob Jones touchdown.
Later in the first quarter, Frye converted a fourth and one play but left the field favoring his ankle. Brady Polson came in and threw to Rice for another touchdown and Bob Jones led 21-0 after Gary Glassman’s extra point.
Florence drove to a touchdown as quarterback Blake Hawkins connected with Roland Adams for a 35 yard gain. Cameron Davis went in from a yard out.
On Bob Jones next drive, Frye was running for the sideline but a Florence defender tackled him from behind and landed on his ankle. He had to be carried across the field.
A holding penalty cost the Patriots a first and goal from the two and pushed them back to the 16 yard line. Daniel Womble missed a 33 yard field goal attempt.
Rose said losing Frye had a big impact on the game.
“You go from a senior to a tenth grader it changes your rhythm and what you practiced all week. Brady faced a tough situation and gave us a chance to win. He did a lot of good things.”
Polson finished 14 of 28 passing for 99 yards.
Bob Jones failed to gain a first down in the third quarter until Deondre Douglas ran a fake punt for 12 yards.
Florence struck for 21 points in the third quarter including a 50-yard touchdown run by Cameron Davis. Roland Adams added a 6-yard touchdown run to put Florence up 28-21.
For the second week in a row, Bob Jones allowed two running backs to rush for over 100 yards against them. Roland Adams ran for 100 yards on 20 carries mostly in the second half. Cameron Davis had 154 yards on 16 carries and two touchdowns.
Florence had 437 yards of total offense to Bob Jones 347.
“Our kids are playing hard,” Rose said of the defense. “We’re going to have to improve. I’ve said all year by week 10 we will be good on defense. It’s going to take these kids a while. They can’t come up from the tenth grade and play like seniors. We may get beat again. We’re going to keep working.”
Bob Jones closed the gap with a one yard touchdown run by Polson and a pass to Torrey Hunt for the two point conversion. The defense held after a pass interference penalty put Florence inside the five yard line. Florence missed a 32 yard field goal.
Polson was unable to find an open receiver as time expired.
Bob Jones is now 3-2 on the season. They return to region play next Friday at Buckhorn.
