Champions of The Challenge; Bob Jones defeats Carver-Montgomery
Miles Strickland runs against Carver Saturday night (contributed/ Tammie Stephenson)
MONTGOMERY- Led by quarterback Brady Polson and running back Miles Strickland, Bob Jones roared out to a big lead Saturday night against Carver-Montgomery but the Patriots needed a late touchdown pass from Collins Hess to Derek Marion to claim a 37-30 victory in the AHSAA Champions Challenge.
Carver scored one touchdown against the Patriots starting defense on a pass to a running back out of the backfield. Sunday, Coach Kevin Rose was at work analyzing his teams performance.
“We played well early but had some breakdowns on defense,” Rose said. “We played fast. We ran 27 plays in the second quarter alone. We did a lot of good things but made some mistakes and we have plenty to work on this week.”
The Patriots drove to an opening touchdown on their first possession. Miles Strickland bolted 20 yards on the first play of the game. He went in from the five to cap the 70-yard, eight play drive. Mathew Stephenson added the extra point for a 7-0 lead.
The defense contributed to the early momentum as Carlos Davis sacked Carver quarterback Slade Price forcing a fumble and recovered the ball.
Bob Jones struck quickly on a throwback to Milkhi Stewart who then threw long to Strickland who slipped out of the backfield for a 37-yard touchdown pass. Stewart, now a receiver, played quarterback at Liberty Middle.
In the second quarter, Polson went to work in the passing game. He hit Derek Marion across the middle for a 21-yard touchdown. The Patriots next drive appeared to stall at Carver’s 35 yard line on fourth and five. Rose elected to go for it and Polson threaded the needle with a slant pass to Brad Anderson for 20 yards. Strickland then scored his third touchdown on a one yard run and Bob Jones led 27-9.
Strickland ran 12 times for 68 yards, all in the first half.
“He was very physical and explosive,” Rose said of Strickland. “He ran with a lot of determination and broke a lot of tackles and gave great effort.”
Bob Jones safety A.J. Harris got his first interception of the season late in the first half and the Patriots capitalized as Matt Stephenson booted a 40-yard field goal.
Polson played into the third quarter. He finished 16 of 25 passing for 159 yards.
The offensive line is still a work in progress according to Rose. The group had a bust in the first half that allowed defenders to sack Polson.
“We shuffled several players on the line. We are still searching for five starters in the right combination.”
Rose started substituting players in the third quarter and Carver took advantage. The Wolverines scored 21 unanswered points.
Bob Jones struck back when Brad Anderson returned a kickoff to the Carver 35 yard line. There Collins Hess hit Derek Marion on what turned out to be the game winning touchdown.
“Collins ran the offense well, had a touchdown pass, and converted a big fourth and one with 60 seconds left to close them out,” Rose said.
“It was some good publicity for our program and we won’t play anybody all year that is more talented than Carver. It was good that we had to make some plays at the end to win. They played their starters the whole game. We played backups the fourth quarter. ”
Bob Jones opens the regular season Friday night against Decatur at Ogle Stadium in Decatur.
