Yellow Jackets cruise past Hiram in region opener
There were a lot of numbers Calhoun put up Friday night that were more than eye-popping.
They had nearly 500 yards in total offense, scoring 28 points in the second quarter alone and 21 more in the third. They had nine touchdowns and made nine extrapoint kicks while scoring a single-game season-high 63 for a fourth straight win.
But the number Yellow Jackets head coach Clay Stephenson was most pleased with after his team’s 63-17 shellacking of winless Hiram before a nice homecoming crowd at Phil Reeve Stadium was 1. As in 1-0.
That’s because with the onesided victory over the Hornets in both teams AAAAA Region 7 opener, that is the Jackets record in the league with a crucial road test at Blessed Trinity coming Friday night.
“It feels great to be 1-0 and win that Region opener,” Stephenson said. “It’s nice. These games and the next four are what it’s all about. The total record doesn’t matter. What does matter is being 1-0 and getting ready for the next week.”
Once again, the Jackets offense, which is one of the highest-scoring in Georgia’s 5A ranks, was pretty much unstoppable from the opening whistle.
Using a slew of different receivers and running backs and mixing in freshman tight end Amari Winston, the black-and-white moved the ball up and down their home field with little resistance the entire night.
“Right now, it’s been one of those deals where every week someone new steps up and makes big plays for us,” Stephenson said. “And each week it seems someone steps it up as far as earning
more playing time and it’s a credit to the kids for taking advantage of the opportunity they get.”
“And I got to give our position coaches credit as well. A lot of times a position coach only has to get one or two kids ready, but with the talent we have and the depth we’ve shown, our position coaches have 3 or 4 or sometimes even more kids than that, that they’re getting ready to play, so our kids are doing a great job of being ready to play when their number is called and our coaches have done a nice job of having them ready.”
Calhoun led 7-0 after the first period and scored 28
points in the first 10 minutes of the second period to lead 35-0 before the Hornets scored a pair of touchdowns in the final two minutes of the half to make it 35-14 at the break.
But on the first play of the third, QB Christian Lewis hooked up with wide receiver Peyton Law on an 80-yard score and moments later, senior speedster Cole Speer took a kickoff, after a Hiram field goal, back 88 yards for another touchdown as Stephenson and his staff began to clear the bench.
The Yellow Jackets have won four consecutive games and are now 5-1 overall to go with 1-0 in the region.