BLOWOUT win at HOME
The Calhoun Times
The Calhoun Yellow Jackets played host to the Ridgeland Panthers on Friday for Senior Night in the Jackets’ first home game of the season at Phil Reeve Stadium. The Jackets honored their seniors by soundly defeated the Panthers 60-0. Calhoun head coach Clay Stephenson was pleased.
“It was a welcome change from the games we’ve been having,” Stephenson said. “Coach (Kip) Klein had his team ready. We came out ready to play from the opening whistle until the end. It’s a good result.”
Calhoun opened up the scoring on the Jackets’ second offensive drive of the game, as Calhoun quarterback Christian Lewis threw a 39-yard touchdown pass to Will Seamons with 5:11 left in the opening quarter.
Jackets’ star running back Jerrian Hames had a huge night on the ground despite having limited touches. Hames rushed for 152 yards on only 10 carries and scored three touchdowns. His first score came with four minutes left to go in the first, as he took a handoff and sped past Ridgeland
defenders for a 56-yard touchdown.
Stephenson was elated with the performance of his talented running back Hames.
“He was running very hard,” Stephenson said. “He had a couple really good runs out here on the edge, and the touchdown run was nice. He had another nice night, and we didn’t have to feed him too much, which was good.”
Calhoun added another score minutes later, as Lewis threw a beautiful deep pass to a wide-open John Barnes, who hauled it in and raced down the sideline for a 70-yard touchdown on the Jackets’ first play of the drive to make it 28-0.
Quick drives highlighted by big plays were the trend yet again for Calhoun. The Yellow Jackets bucked that trend on their next possession though, as Calhoun’s Quin Smith intercepted a pass deep in Yellow Jacket territory, and Lewis led the Jackets on a nice 8-play drive that started on their own 18 and was capped off by an 18-yard touchdown run by Hames. The Jackets also added a 2-point conversion right after to make it 36-0.
The Panthers (0-4) made their fair share of mistakes in the game, including fumbling back-to-back kickoffs late in the first half. Calhoun’s offense made them pay both times, as Brett Garland rushed for an 18-yard touchdown, and then Carlos Orozco nailed a 30-yard field goal as time expired to make it 46-0 at the half.
The Jackets emptied the bench in the second half, and a bunch of players got valuable experience. One of those players, quarterback Dylan Faulkner, made the most of his playing time by throwing a short pass to Dustin Kerns, who looked like he was tackled by Ridgeland defenders but somehow spun away and sped down the sideline for a 43-yard touchdown.
Running back Kaleb Ray also took advantage of his playing time, as he rushed for 81 yards on nine carries and a 40-yard touchdown with 4:13 left in the game to make the score 60-0, which was the final.
Lewis went 6-of-8 through the air for 157 yards and two touchdowns.
“Defense played great,” Stephenson said. “They were flying around and making tackles when they got there, so I am very proud of Coach (Terry) Morrow and his staff and the players.”