By BRET H. MCCORMICK, Journal Sports
Buckeye gave the No. 5 Jena Giants all they wanted for one half on Friday.
The Panthers took a 14-0 lead to start the game before the Giants even touched the ball and trailed by six points at the half, but Jena’s defense rose to the occasion in the second half in a 74-38 win.
The Giants (10-0, 5-0 District 3-3A) outscored Buckeye 36-6 after halftime after leading 38-32 at the break.
Zerrick Jones rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns to get the best of Buckeye’s Jim Burlew in a battle of two of the state’s top rushers.
Burlew, who rushed for 121 yards on 42 carries, gave the Panthers a 14-point lead in the first quarter with the first of his two touchdowns. Buckeye struck first on a double pass when Adam Brodnax tossed a backward lateral to Jesse Standlee, who then found a wide-open Bryce Warthen for a 45-yard touchdown.
The Panthers (5-5, 2-3) then recovered an onside kick that set up Burlew’s first touchdown and the 14-0 lead.
Jena answered with two touchdowns and two 2-point conversions to take a two-point lead after one quarter. Zach Barker hit Brayden Oakes for a 15-yard touchdown, and Cameron Koch scored a 25-yard touchdown.
Koch added 111 rushing yards and three touchdowns as the Giants rushed for 344 yards and eight touchdowns. The two teams combined for 1,005 yards of total offense in the game.
Buckeye coach Ben McLaughlin said the Giants played extremely well for coach Jay Roark and are worthy of all their accolades.
“What Jay’s built over there is amazing,” McLaughlin said.
The teams traded scores in the second quarter like two heavyweights throwing haymakers at one another. Jones’ 31-yard touchdown, in which he spun out of a tackle and raced down the sideline into the end zone, was followed by an 11-yard Burlew TD run. Koch added a 5-yard score before Brodnax threw the first of his three passing touchdowns, a 65-yarder to Haidyn Boone.
Jones broke off another 30-yard touchdown late in the second quarter, but the Panthers countered with an 11-yard connection between Brodnax and tight end Ty Curtis.
The six-point difference at halftime came courtesy of the Giants’ converting four of their five 2-point attempts while Buckeye missed on four of its five attempts.
Jena broke open the game in the third quarter when Barker connected with Zy Hunter for an 80-yard touchdown pass followed by a 26-yard run by Jones, which gave the Giants a 52-32 lead.
Brodnax found Boone for a second TD from 24 yards out to cut the deficit to two scores, but that would be the last time the Panthers found the end zone on the night.
Koch got his third score from 3 yards out in the third quarter, and Jena added two more rushing scores in the fourth – a 3-yarder by Hunter and a 1-yarder by Zac Brown.
Brodnax passed for a career-high 314 yards in the game, completing 23 of 43 passes, but he also threw a career-high four interceptions. Boone caught 12 passes for 235 yards and two touchdowns.
McLaughlin said his first-year starting quarterback continues to show progress at the position. He highlighted a 4th-and-10 play where no receiver was open and Brodnax ran for a first down.
“He’s playing the game,” McLaughlin said. “He’s made a lot of amazing throws. As a former quarterback to an offensive coordinator to a head coach, seeing him make that play shows how much he’s progressed.”
MENARD 24, GLEN OAKS 6
Cooper Scott scored three touchdowns and Gavin Hilton rushed for 108 yards as the Eagles piled up 279 rushing yards in the victory.
Leading 17-6, the Eagle defense made a huge defensive stand, as Asher Davis forced a fumble in the red zone that was recovered by Ben Good late in the third quarter.
Menard (7-3) then marched 88 yards over 10 plays, taking nearly eight minutes off the clock. Hilton broke loose for a 20-yard run, and Scott finished off the drive with a 23-yard touchdown.
Scott got the Eagles on the board with a 1-yard touchdown in the first quarter, and Menard took a 10-0 lead into the half following a 26-yard field goal by Ryan Hicks.
Glen Oaks (2-8) scored its only touchdown on a 99-yard kickoff return by Darius Gross that trimmed the Eagles’ lead to 10-6.
The Eagles overcame three first-half turnovers, including two in the red zone, and took firm control in the third quarter when Scott scored his second touchdown, finishing off a drive with a 5-yard run.
FRANKLIN PARISH 15, PEABODY 6
Peabody’s high-powered offense was stifled by the Patriots, who got a short touchdown run by Michael Grant and a 24-yard field goal by Jackson Cordill late in the first half after a fumbled kickoff by the Warhorses (6-4).
Peabody’s defense held Franklin Parish’s offense in check most of the night, frustrating Dezyrian Ellis into a 12-for-30 passing performance. However, Ellis did connect with Marshawn Whitley for a touchdown pass to go up 15-0.
Malachi Duke caught a 55-yard touchdown pass from Larry Roberts late for the Warhorses’ only score of the game.
It was the second straight loss for Peabody, and coach Harry Coleman said he was disappointed in his team’s performance. He said the Warhorses missed on several interception opportunities early in the game that would have given Peabody the edge.
“Those are momentum-shifters and game-changers where we would have ran away with the game if we completed one of those plays,” Coleman said.
In other action in the parish last week, Bolton and Northwood-Lena wrapped up their seasons with losses to Caldwell and St. Mary’s. Caldwell defeated the Bears (0-10) 43-8, while St. Mary’s seated the Gators (1-9) 61-8.