Bob Jones too much for Lee
MADISON – This game was over at some point in the first quarter.
Bob Jones absolutely dismantled Lee this past Friday night at Madison City Stadium 50-28.
The final score does not begin to reflect the disparity of these two teams in this contest that spiraled out of control for the visiting Generals in a hurry.
The Patriots literally did whatever they wanted with the football.
Bob Jones was up 50-7 at halftime as the bands trotted out on the field to play some tunes at the midway point.
The action started quickly as the Patriots’ linebacker Romeo Washington pounced on the Lee ballcarrier in the Generals’ own end zone for a safety at 11:14 in the opening quarter that awarded Bob Jones two points and a free kick.
Bob Jones wasted no time scoring more points after the free kick as senior quarterback Gakobey Gill dialed up his favorite target, the senior receiver Rhys Dorsey, for a 32-yard strike that made it 9-0 Patriots with 10:31 remaining in the first quarter.
Lee had nothing for the Patriots who could smell blood in the water and were having a feed frenzy with constant pressure in the Generals’ backfield.
A drive by Lee was halted before it could really begin when the junior defensive back Myles Mitchell sacked the quarterback.
A bad punt handed Bob Jones a short field at the Lee 42-yard line.
It had worked on the last drive; would it work a second time?
Gill dropped back and hurled the ball down the middle of the field for a streaking Dorsey who didn’t even have to slow down to make the 42-yard touchdown catch right in front of the Bob Jones student section.
The students glowed bright yellow in Hi-Vis vests like they were attending a construction workers convention instead of a football game.
In a flash, Bob Jones was firmly in control leading 16-0 with 7:20 to play in the first quarter.
One would think that Lee was just going to start the bus and go home, but the Generals instead threw a wild punch and caught the Patriots right in the mouth.
The Lee quarterback Elijah Taylor loaded up and threw this high-arching ball deep down the field for his receiver Vernell Devries who hauled it in and turned on the jets.
Devries pulled away from the Bob Jones defensive back who got burned on the stunning 80-yard touchdown grab that made it 16-7 with 7:08 on the clock in the first quarter.
This shocker of a play from a team that appeared to be half-asleep for much of the opening minutes changed the mood in the stadium of the home fans who were left a little perplexed.
This moment seemed to only motivate Bob Jones to punish Lee with a barrage of points in the remainder of the first half.
Fresh off the Generals score, Lee kicked to Dorsey of the Patriots who knifed through the coverage for a kickoff return touchdown for a 23-7 advantage.
All that hope that Lee had built with that 80-yard score had been quelled with one kick return.
Things went from bad to worse for the Generals in the first quarter with 6:51 on the clock when the Lee kick returner dropped the ball and Bob Jones’ NaKobi Weatherspoon made the recovery at the 11-yard line of Lee.
The 5-yard rushing touchdown by the junior Jaden Rice was a formality for Bob Jones with the pigskin being served on a platter from Lee.
The Patriots were up 30-7 with 6:17 to play in this slow-moving first quarter.
Bob Jones made it 37-7 when Kaleb Christopher scored on a 20-yard scamper still in the first quarter.
The second quarter was not any better for Lee as Bob Jones continued to accrue points with relative ease.
It became 40-7 Pats when a 35-yard field goal attempt by Nolan Whigham split the uprights for three more points despite being partially blocked by the Generals.
Rice found the end zone a second time with 8:34 to play in the second quarter on a 14-yard rushing score for a 47-7 lead.
Bob Jones had pulled most of its starters midway through the second quarter and a field goal with time running out before the half would be the final points for the Patriots in the game.
Lee would score 21 points in the fourth quarter to make the score look a little better, but the game had been decided long before all of that.
Bob Jones (2-0) remains at home this Friday at 7 p.m. at Madison City Stadium when it collides with bitter rival James Clemens (1-0) who is fresh off a bye week.