Bob Jones gets two goal line stands to claim win over James Clemens
James Clemens Devon Atkinson is tripped up by Bob Jones defense (Photo contributed/ Tammie Stephenson)
MADISON- The Madison Bowl lived up to all the hype and then some for the estimated 10,000 fans that packed MCSS. Bob Jones’ defense had two fourth quarter goal line stands to secure a 27-24 win over James Clemens.
Maceo Booker was stopped on a fourth and goal from the one yard line late in the fourth quarter. A touchdown would have sealed James Clemens first ever win over Bob Jones.
Instead, Miles Strickland took a pass in his own end zone and weaved through the Jets defense outrunning the last two players for officially a 99 yard touchdown catch. Strickland battled through a rib injury and ended with 160 total yard on 20 carries and 3 receptions.
James Clemens final bid to win or send the game to overtime ended with a pass deflection by Brandon Alexander that was intercepted by A.J. Harris at the goal line.
“Madison can be proud of both high schools,” Bob Jones coach Kevin Rose said after the game. “Both teams made enough plays to win, we were just fortunate to come out on top. I’m proud of our entire football team.”
James Clemens jumped out to a 10-0 lead early. LaBryan Ray blocked a field goal attempt in the first quarter and Sterling Fisher’s return for an apparent touchdown was called back due to holding. The Jets capitalized as Devon Atkinson scored from five yards for a 7-0 James Clemens lead.
Will Grochowski added a 38-yard field goal in the second quarter.
James Clemens defense dominated early. LaBryan Ray had two quarterback sacks.
Mathew Stephenson’s 54-yard punt helped flip the field for Bob Jones. After a three-and-out Stickland scored on a 1-yard run. He later added a 3-yard touchdown run to put Bob Jones up 14-10 at the half.
Penalties hurt James Clemens. The Jets were flagged 9 times for 80 yards in the first half.
In the second half, James Clemens quickly moved ahead 17-14 as quarterback Heath Burchfield ran a keeper to the one yard line where Atkinson scored.
Bob Jones came right back as Brady Polson hit Jonathon Moss for 35 yards. Polson’s 4-yard touchdown run made it 21-17.
Macio Booker on the fourth and one play
Maceo Booker scored for James Clemens and a defensive stand forced Bob Jones to try a fake punt that was stopped short. The Jets, up 24-21, were in good shape with 9:00 left in the game. But the offense could not get a first down and punted.
The Jets got another chance to put the game away with 3:00 left when a scrambling Polson was hit and fumbled at his own nine yard line. The ball was recovered by Jordan Lowe. From there, the Bob Jones defense made a goal line stand.
The penalties evened out in the second half as James Clemens’ final drive was aided by three pass interference penalties, two on Alexander as he covered Immanuel Wilder.
“Alexander is our best corner and he made up for some mistakes in a big way,” Rose said.
“Miles can go the distance anytime he touches the ball and he gave us a chance to win. He made a big play in a big situation.
They have a great defense and we just had to scratch out enough points to win. We stayed with the short passing game because we couldn’t get anything off. On our three step stuff our quarterback was getting sacked and hit. Brady hung in there and found a way to get us in the end zone.”
Bob Jones goes to 2-0 (1-0 in Area 4) while James Clemens falls to 1-1 (0-1).
