Patriots rebound with 50-23 rout of Grissom

HUNTSVILLE – It took Bob Jones one quarter against Grissom to answer any questions about any lingering effects from last week’s heart-pounding loss to its Madison rival James Clemens.

It actually took just a few plays.

The Patriots got an interception on a ricochet through the hands of a Tigers receiver on the second play from scrimmage, scored on their first snap en route to a big lead and routed their Class 7A, Region 4 foes 50-23 Friday night at wet Wicks Family Field at Joe Davis Stadium.

Bob Jones led at each quarter break 21-0, 35-0 and 42-7.

Bob Jones (3-1 overall, 1-0 region) sat starters for much of the second half against Grissom (1-2, 0-2), which also lost a rivalry game last week 30-27 to Huntsville. The Patriots fell to James Clemens 34-31 when a 43-yard field goal attempt by the former was blocked in the final seconds.

Against the Tigers, Patriots quarterback Johnny Jackson threw four touchdown passes and ran for one, while running back Caleb Sanders caught two TD passes and rushed for two more.

A face mask penalty against Bob Jones put Grissom at midfield on its second play of the game. But a pass by senior quarterback Seth Leebern that hit his target in stride downfield went through the receiver’s hands and straight to BJ Carter, who returned it roughly 37 yards to the Tigers’ 38-yard line.

From there, Jackson and Sanders hooked up for the score. The Patriots ran for two to make it 8-0 with less than two minutes elapsed and the rout was on.

Florence (1-2, 1-0), which plays Bob Jones at Madison City Stadium at 7 p.m. Friday, had an unscheduled week off when its home game with Austin was rescheduled for Sept. 27 because of the threat of inclement weather caused by the remnants of hurricane Francine.

After the first touchdown, other TDs for Bob Jones came on a 63-yard pass to Malachi Foster, two runs of five yards by Sanders; a catch of 21 by Kolton Wong; a 3-yard keeper by Jackson; and a 9-yard reception by Carter that came after Grissom got a 30-yard scoop and score from senior linebacker Caleb Brothers that made it 42-23 halfway through the fourth quarter.

Other touchdowns for Grissom came on passes of 32 by Leebern and 22 by Tristian Taylor, who caught the first one to put the Tigers on the board and threw the pass to TJ Cole.

The Tigers host region leader James Clemens (3-0, 2-0) this week at Louis Crews Stadium.

Check out the Sept. 18 print edition of The Madison Record for more details about the game.