It was the kind of dramatic game stuffed with big plays that Jenkins could be talking about for a long time, except the Warriors will have to keep the celebration short and focus next week on the second round of the GHSA Class 3A playoffs.
Still, the memories will last from wild Friday night when Jenkins took the lead for the first time with 2:56 left in regulation to outscore visiting Whitewater 50-45 at Groves Stadium.
The Warriors recorded the game’s final 14 points in a 76-second span on Dominique Johnson’s 16-yard touchdown pass from Demetrius Holloway Jr., and Ryan Scott’s third 1-yard TD run of the night.
Jaylon Elliott put Scott in position with a 24-yard catch and run, which looked like he had crashed through a tackle into the end zone. Another hero was kicker Joshua Woodley, who had two successful onside kicks in the second half, the latter taking a wicked extra hop off a Whitewater player and snagged by Scott to keep possession with Jenkins for the winning drive.
“We had too many mistakes, but we never stopped. Never,” Jenkins coach Tony Welch said. “The guys never gave up, never stopped. It’s a championship game, every game. That’s one gone. We’ve got four more to win.”
The Warriors (10-1), riding a 10-game victory streak, will face Peach County (10-1), a 53-28 winner over Cherokee Bluff, next Friday night.
“We’re just happy to get out of here (with a win),” Welch said. “Playoffs are about advancing, and we’re going to the Sweet 16.”
Jenkins had outscored opponents by 317 points in the regular season but found itself trying to keep up from the start against Whitewater (now 5-6) of Fayetteville.
The Wildcats posted the first score on the second play from scrimmage when linebacker David Duru came away from a running-play scrum with a fumble recovery and bolted 56 yards the other direction. A bruising runner, the 6-foot-2, 225-pound Duru added the two-point conversion for an 8-0 Whitewater led on what would be the only turnover of the game.
The Warriors responded on the next drive when Holloway scrambled and lofted a pass to Johnson, who sprinted away from the defense for a TD. Johnson totaled four catches for 116 yards and the two scores, with probably his most impressive being a leaping grab for 33 yards at the right sideline despite defensive pass interference early in the second quarter.
The explosive plays didn’t stop there, as Whitewater’s KJ Deriso broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and took off for a 65-yard score and 16-8 advantage in the opening quarter.
After a Jenkins punt, Whitewater’s Jacob Ross broke through the line for a 53-yard TD and a 22-8 lead.
Holloway’s 32-yard scramble set up Scott’s first 1-yard TD run to close out the scoring of an eventful and long first quarter with a 22-15 deficit for the host squad.
Johnson’s highlight-reel sideline catch was followed on the next play by Elliott running 11 yards around left end untouched to the end zone for 22-22 with 10:36 left in the second quarter.
“We just picked our team up (after) every mistake,” Elliott said after the game. “We stayed with positive energy, God on our side. Just stayed up.”
Ross scored on a 3-yard run, and Deriso had clear sailing for a 73-yarder for a 35-22 gap as Whitewater continued to gash the Jenkins defense at the line and burst to the second level where help did not come.
Deriso finished the game with 11 carries for 167 yards, with 138 on his two TD runs in the first half.
Welch said the team didn’t look past its opponent, and he wondered if the two weeks between games had an effect, or perhaps the coaches didn’t prepare the team well enough.
“We weren’t playing football. We were just out of sync,” Welch said.
“But we do know that we’ve got to shore up the mistakes and not play so wild and loose and just play fundamental football. We can’t give up big plays. We gave up big plays.”
Sometimes the big plays were penalties at the worst times, such as on Whitewater’s opening drive of the second half, when Deriso slipped after taking the handoff behind the line of scrimmage on third-and-10. He was down by contact with the ground, but the ball appeared to be loose, and the Warriors' tacklers made contact with him going for the dead ball.
The Wildcats took advantage of the 15-yard penalty and first down to drive for Aiden Jackson’s eventual 20-yard TD run and a 20-point lead, 42-22.
The Warriors, a run-heavy team like the Wildcats, turned to Scott for grinding off-tackle runs, and Holloway turned in a dazzling 35-yarder before Scott busted in from the 1 for a 42-29 deficit with 2:18 left in the third.
Scott finished the game with 21 carries for 94 yards – the longest run for 12 yards – and three TDs.
Woodley’s first onside kick was recovered by teammate Tyler Rhodes. Two plays later, Kemari Wright scored from 27 yards out for a one-TD deficit, 42-36, about two minutes before the end of the third quarter.
The Warriors trailed 45-36 when Wildcats kicker Isaac Ross booted a 27-yard field goal with 4:51 remaining in the fourth quarter.
That drive was aided by Jacob Ross’ stunning 23-yard catch when Whitewater faced third-and-18 from the Jenkins 40. The Warriors’ Johnson, playing cornerback, jumped and tipped the pass at the high point, only for Ross to cradle the deflection as it landed on him as he fell to the ground for an improbable first down.
Jenkins made its own good fortune with a long kickoff return to the Whitewater 11. After a 5-yard offensive penalty and an incomplete pass, Holloway bobbled the snap before coolly zipping a pass from the pocket to Johnson open on a post pattern. A roughing-the-passer penalty was carried over to the kickoff with 4:12 left in the game.
Holloway was an efficient 11 of 13 for 204 yards through the air.
After a Jenkins penalty, Woodley delivered on the expected onside kick. Elliott set up Scott’s score for the 50-45 lead, then the defense stopped Whitewater on five snaps for a turnover on downs with 2:05 left to secure the victory.
“What I’ve said all the time is there are three phases: offense, defense and special teams,” Welch said. “The defense didn’t play well tonight, but they got stops when they needed to. Special teams had two, back-to-back onside kicks. That’s the difference.”
|
HV JENKINS 50, WHITEWATER 45 |
||||||
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | Total | ||
| WW | 22 | 13 | 7 | 3 | 45 | |
| HVJ | 15 | 7 | 14 | 14 | 50 | |
| SCORE | ||||||
|
First Quarter |
WW | HVJ | ||||
|
WW—David Duru 56 fumble return (Duru run) |
8 | 0 | ||||
|
HVJ—Dominique Johnson 62 pass from Demetrius Holloway Jr. (Ryan Scott run) |
8 | 8 | ||||
|
WW—KJ Deriso 65 run (Duru run) |
16 | 8 | ||||
|
WW—Jacob Ross 53 run (run failed) |
22 | 8 | ||||
|
HVJ—Scott 1 run (Joshua Woodley kick) |
22 | 15 | ||||
|
Second Quarter |
||||||
|
HVJ—Jaylon Elliott 11 run (Woodley kick) |
22 | 22 | ||||
|
WW—Ross 3 run (run failed) |
28 | 22 | ||||
|
WW—Deriso 73 run (Isaac Ross kick) |
35 | 22 | ||||
|
Third Quarter |
||||||
|
WW—Aiden Jackson 20 run (I. Ross kick) |
42 | 22 | ||||
|
HVJ—Scott 1 run (Woodley kick) |
42 | 29 | ||||
|
HVJ—Kemari Wright 27 run (Woodley kick) |
42 | 36 | ||||
|
Fourth Quarter |
||||||
|
WW—I. Ross 27 FG |
45 | 36 | ||||
|
HVJ—Johnson 16 pass from Holloway (Woodley kick) |
45 | 43 | ||||
|
HVJ—Scott 1 run (Woodley kick) |
45 | 50 | ||||
|
Records—Whitewater 5-6, Jenkins 10-1. |
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
PLAYOFF FINAL SCORES
SCISA Class 2A Semi-Finals
Bethesda Academy 32, Greenwood Christian 14
Bethesda Academy (11-0) will play Pee Dee Academy (8-3) for the SCISA AA Championship on Saturday, Nov. 22, at South Carolina State, Orangeburg, S.C., 7 p.m.
Class 6A
Buford 45, Richmond Hill 0
Class 5A
Clarke Central 34, Effingham County 33
Class 4A
Benedictine 42, East Forsyth 7
No. 1 Benedictine will host No. 2 Cass in the second round on Friday, Nov. 21
Class 3A
Jenkins 50, Whitewater 45
No. 5 Jenkins will host No. 12 Peach County in the second round on Friday, Nov. 21
Cairo 36, Liberty County 7
West Laurens 45, Beach 6
Class A-3A Private
Mt. Vernon 23, Savannah Country Day 13
BYES
No. 4 Calvary Day (9-1) will host No. 13 Kings Ridge in the second round on Friday, Nov. 21
No. 8 Savannah Christian (6-4) will host Christian Heritage (7-3) in the second round on Friday, Nov. 21
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
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