Sea of Red; Bob Jones celebrates five in a row over James Clemens

Gavin Lewis stops Bradley Belt in the backfield (Record Photo/Lindsay Vaught)

MADISON- Bob Jones did exactly what head coach Kevin Rose said they would do as they took to the air and came away with a 28-20 victory over city-rival James Clemens.

With both teams ranked in the top ten in class 7A, the game got tremendous media attention.

In TV interviews city school officials were quick to tout the successes of Madison City Schools rather than the football rivalry.

They were also quick to separate the teams and fans after the game.

James Clemens led 20-14 starting the fourth quarter but a fumble by quarterback Jackson Nowlin led to a quick Bob Jones touchdown.

Milkyle Stewart then had a pick six interception of Nowlin to stretch the lead to 28-20.

The Jets still had a chance to send the game to overtime after their defense got a stop and took over at the Bob Jones 36 yard line with less than a minute left.

But it was the Bob Jones defense again rising to the occasion finishing with a sack of Nowlin by David Foster and an interception by Kyle Parker to end the game.

James Clemens was ranked #2 in 7A. Bob Jones Coach Kevin Rose is now 5-0 against James Clemens.

“Best one yet,” Rose said. “It was a great victory for our football team and our coaching staff. They have an outstanding team but our defense rose up on a couple of occasions in the second half. Offensively we got enough points to win.”

Rose said that he didn’t try to run against the Jets front seven that includes three players offered by SEC teams.

“We decided to go to the vertical passing game with Brody and our offensive line did a good job giving him just enough time to hit some big plays.”

The first of the big plays was a 57 yard completion to Milkhi Stewart on third and 16. That drive stalled as Rose elected to go for the touchdown instead of the field goal.

Brady Polson passes against james Clemens Friday night (Contributed/Tammie Stephenson)

Polson later connected with A.J. Harris for 43 yards and finally a 37-yard touchdown pass to Stewart to put Bob Jones up 7-0.

James Clemens responded with a touchdown run of 6 yards by Bradley Belt on fourth and one.

The game was tied 7-7 at the half.

The Jets took their first lead at 14-7 on Belt’s 11-yard run in the third quarter.

Bob Jones responded as Polson hit Demontrez Brown for 41 yards and Sam Barnes on a two yard touchdown pass.

James Clemens again took the lead after Nowlin scrambled 33 yards. Belt surged in on fourth down from the two yard line but the extra point snap and hold were botched and the Jets led 20-14.

Polson went to the well once too often on the next series and Kyriq McDonald picked him off and the Jets appeared in good shape.

But Nowlin fumbled at his five yard line and Bob Jones recovered. Polson hit Milkhi Stewart for a touchdown and Ian Kurowsky’s extra point made it 21-20.

Bob Jones defense got a turnover on downs and later Nowlin threw a pick six to Milkyle Stewart to make the final 28-20.

“I told Brady this week he needed to throw three touchdown passes for us to win,” Rose said.

“There were several momentum swings in the game and when Milkyle got the pick six we got a huge energy burst. Our guys knew how important this game was and they rose to the occasion.”

Bob Jones had 10 yards rushing total. Polson passed for 309 yards on 13 of 27. James Clemens had 21 yards passing on 6 completions. James Clemens had 65 running plays and Belt finished with 160 yards on 38 carries.