J’ville Lions to open season at home against Cardinals

Jessieville takes to the field for the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the Lions are ready to get a taste of the game as they play host to Haskell Harmony Grove at Don Phillips Field.

“We’re just excited we get to play,” Jessieville head coach T.J. Burk said. “After not knowing for a long time whether we’d have a season or not, we’re excited to get out there and play. (The atmosphere) is pretty upbeat. … It’s been good. It’s just good to be, after such a long lay off, good to be back around each other. The kids are excited just to get to play. We’re excited for (tonight). We can’t wait.”

Burk said the team has been emphasizing a number of aspects of the game during this week’s practices.

“We’ve been focusing on playing physical,” explained Burk. “They’re a physical football team, and we’re going to have to play hard and meet them at the line of scrimmage with the same intensity that they’re coming with. We’ve just got to play hard.”

Even with multiple Cardinals that possess a fair amount of ability and power, Burk anticipates a balanced match tonight.

“They’ve got several threats

that we’ve got to stop, so we’ve got to really tackle everybody,” he said. “Whoever’s got it, we’ve got to tackle. … I think it’s a pretty evenly-matched game. They looked pretty good on film, but we’ve prepared our kids, and we hope they’re up for the challenge.”

The Lions have not defeated the Cardinals since 2016, but they are 4-4 against them since 2010, their last contest a 27-20 loss on the road in 2017.

The Lions have a slew of talent they will be depending on to lead the team tonight. Junior quarterback Carson Hair appears this season as a third-year starter having completed 102 of 188 passes for

2,289 yards and 22 touchdowns last season with 114 carries for 674 yards and eight scores while classmate Matthew Huff rushed for

186 times for 1,227 yards and 13 touchdowns and had 12 receptions for 212 yards with two more TDs

“We’re relying on some of our returners,” he explained. “We’ve got our quarterback Carson Hair returning, Matthew Huff, Charlie Davis at receiver, and Landon Daley. Those are our skill kids that we’re going to lean on.”

Davis came away with 20 catches for 466 yards and six touchdowns with only six games played while Daley secured 20 catches for 434 yards and five TDs.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m.