Calhoun holds on for win in hard-fought game vs. Astros
Jackets defense takes lead in opener, offense makes enough plays
In what quickly transformed into a physical, tightly-contested and primarily defensive showdown, the Calhoun Yellow Jackets strung together the right amount of dynamic plays from the receiving corps and disruptive plays from the defensive unit to grind out a 17-14 victory against the Douglass High School Astros on Friday night.
Under the lights for the first official time this season, both squads suffered from a bit of early-season rust and struggled to collect any offensive momentum out of the gate.
The Jackets’ (1-0) opening drive was stalled out by a fumble that was jarred loose from running back Jonkel Tolbert near midfield. However, the offense started clicking in the closing seconds of the first quarter when a pair of personal fouls thrust them to the Douglass (0-1) 23-yard line.
Quarterback Gavin Gray utilized the optimal field position to spark his team by hitting wide receiver Bralin Barton in the numbers on a quick screen pass. The speedster Barton did the rest, coasting past the opposing secondary and putting Calhoun on the board 7-0 with 14 seconds remaining in the first.
“We got off to a slow start, but we were able to pick it up a little at the end of that quarter,” Lamb said. “Bralin is someone that makes big plays for us, and we have to continue getting the ball to him.”
Aside from an interception thrown in the first half stemming from apparent miscommunication, Gray logged a proficient game under center for Calhoun. The junior signal-caller logged 157 passing yards on 13 completions to a handful of different receivers.
After a mostly uneventful second quarter that concluded with Calhoun taking a 7-0 advantage into the locker room, the Jackets immediately gifted the Astros six points when they fumbled a handoff on the first drive of the second half. Douglass defensive end John Rogers scooped up the loose ball and sprinted 50 yards untouched into the end zone. A missed extra point allowed the Jackets to hold onto a thin 7-6 lead.
Despite all the giveaways, Calhoun’s offense remained resilient.
On a drive in the opening minutes of the final quarter, Gray lofted a pass in the direction of receiver Luke Moseley, who wrestled the ball out of the defender’s hands for a spectacular 36-yard snag close to the home sideline. The Jackets once again fed Barton on a screen, who gained 14 yards to put the team firmly in striking distance. Fuller capped off the drive by slicing through the defense for an 11-yard rushing touchdown that pushed the total to 17-6.
“That was an amazing catch that Luke had, and there were a number of other guys that contributed some big plays for us,” Lamb said. “That drive was ultimately what decided the game.”
The Calhoun defense was stout and punishing the entire game, generating tremendous amounts of pressure on the quarterback and stopping the Astros on a handful of 4th-down conversion attempts during key moments.
The Douglass offense operated primarily as a two-man show, with the read-option leaned upon to rack up rushing yards. The Astros didn’t make it easy on the Jackets, with shifty quarterback Juan Powell accumulating 123 rushing yards and power runner Darryl McClellan Jr. tacking on 76 ground yards of his own. However, Calhoun’s defensive personnel clogged the gaps and prevented the two key components of the Douglass offense from breaking away.
“We knew coming in that this was a tough, physical offense,” Lamb said.
“We have to give so much credit to our defense. They all played so many snaps, but they kept on fighting. They got us out of a lot of trouble, and I’m very pleased with their effort.”
Despite the largely shutout defensive performance, the Astros did make things interesting after an additional fumble gave them the ball with less than three minutes left in the fourth. Powell put together his best drive of the night, punctuating it with a 13-yard touchdown scramble to tighten the score at 17-14.
The Jackets kept their composure, recovering the onside kick and gaining a first down on an eight-yard Fuller rush to secure the win.
“I’m proud of our team because we really fought through some adversity to get this win,” Lamb said. “We lost the turnover battle, and we could easily be talking about a loss right now, but we hung in there and did what we had to do.”
Calhoun will be back at home next Friday as they square off against the Dalton Catamounts.