Additional high school football coverage
First-game jitters, uncharacteristic mistakes and some unknown players at key positions had Jones in unfamiliar territory Friday night.
In a battle of Class 2A schools moving down from Class 3A, Jones was down 10 points at halftime on the road to Oklahoma Christian School.
Jones coach Dave Martin’s message at the half was simple.
“Trust what we do,” he said. “Every year is a new group and each week we are going to get better but what I want our guys to know now is the tradition of the program and what’s expected of them.”
His players must’ve remembered as they mounted a comeback in the second half to take down OCS 27-10.
Jones quarterback Daniel Jackson in his first start threw for 129 yards and a touchdown while rushing for 29 yards and two more scores.
It was quite the contrast to Jackson’s first half when two errant snaps on two different Jones possessions resulted in OCS scoring a safety and defensive touchdown by sophomore defensive tackle Max Wynn.
But Jackson, who became the starter over the summer after last season’s quarterback JD Head moved to Texas, rallied in the second half.
“We are blue collar and we just came out and did what we do,” Jackson said. “I said to my center we gotta make every rep count. Every rep has to be quality.”
Jones senior running back Dylan Weiher made the most of each carry in the second half as well. The 6-foot-1, 215-pound bulldozer made 110 yards and a touchdown at a 9.2-second clip.
“He’s a great finisher,” Martin said. “As everyone is still getting into really good game shape, he’s the fortunate thing we’ve got. He helps us outlast people.”
OCS was led by quarterback Calyn Halvorson, who finished 104 yards passing and 63 yards rushing. Of Halvorson’s 16 completions, 11 of them went to senior Blake Curtin, who finished with 82 yards receiving.
The win for Jones is the Longhorns’ 34th consecutive regular season victory, and Martin thinks that goes back to sticking to the plan.
“Early we gave up too many turnovers and just weren’t playing like we know how to do,” Martin said. “There is no need to twist off. Stick to our game plan and take care of the football.
“It’s those simple adages that help you win games early in the season.”