Spector, defense lead Jackets
Before Friday’s matchup between Calhoun and Sonoraville, there were some questions about which local team was the best in Region 6-AAA South and which would likely go to play for a region title in a few weeks. The Jackets put those questions to rest.
Calhoun stormed out of the gates in the first half, leading 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-0 at the half, before coasting to an 34-0 victory to all but clinch the top seed in the subregion. (The Jackets (6-2, 3-0) still need to beat Bremen next Friday to officially clinch.)
“A lot of people said that this was the year that Sonoraville could beat us, but our kids didn’t believe that and our coaches didn’t believe that,” said Calhoun coach Hal Lamb. “We had a couple great weeks of practice to get ready, and our kids were very motivated this week. We came out here and took care of business tonight.”
The Jackets, who now lead the alltime series over the rival Phoenix 9-0, recovered a fumble on Sonoraville’s first possession and used that momentum take control of the game quickly. They scored a touchdown a few plays later on a Baylon Spector run and that set a pattern that would continue for the rest of the game. The Clemson commit was displayed in many different ways as he was the star of the game, finishing with 133 yards on 26 carries and three touchdowns on the ground to lead the way for Calhoun. He had 113 of those yards in the first half
Spector added two one-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter and second quarter and those were sandwiched around a six-yard touchdown pass from Gavin Gray to Luke Jones as the Jackets built their 28-0 halftime lead.
Spector added his fourth touchdown of the night on a three-yard pass from Gray for the only second-half score in the game.
“We had two weeks to prepare for this game, and we’ve been wanting to move Baylon around some to use him more so we were able to do that,” said Lamb. “We threw some new stuff at them, and Baylon played very well. He’s an incredible athlete. And you add Gavin throwing the ball around like he’s doing, it gives our offense some versatility.”
Gray had a pretty solid night in his own right with 214 yards through the air on 19-of-28 passing and two touchdowns. He connected with 10 different receivers, which were led by Malik Lawrence with six catches for 83 yards.
Sonoraville (6-3, 3-1) struggled offensively in the first half to get anything going consistently against a disciplined Calhoun defense. The Phoenix got an explosive 48-yard run by Trenton Daniel early in the game, but the drive stalled in Calhoun territory as the Jackets forced a firstdown stop. Davis Allen and CJ Fuller both had fumble recoveries in the first half. Porter Law came up with Calhoun’s third turnover of the night when he recovered a fumble on a kickoff in the third quarter.
Calhoun is back home next Friday to host Bremen. Sonoraville is idle next week as they wait to see who they will play in the Region Play-in game on Nov. 4. The Phoenix still have a chance to earn the No. 2 seed in Region 6-AAA.