Jemison football wraps up region play with win
Published 8:20 pm Tuesday, October 27, 2009
By Stephen Dawkins
JEMISON – The Jemison Panthers easily took care of the Holt Ironmen on Oct. 23.
The team won, 49-28, in a game more lopsided than the final score shows.
The Panthers now look ahead to Class 5A powerhouse Shelby County on Friday and then the first round of state playoffs.
Jemison led 41-6 at halftime, giving the starters a rest and second- and third-stringers plenty of action in the second half.
Eddie Hubbard started the fireworks with a 66-yard touchdown run.
Quarterback Scott Clements then found Javae Swindle from 12 yards out to put the Panthers up 13-0.
Holt would make things interesting, if only briefly, with a nice punt return that helped set up a 2-yard run by quarterback Daryl Harris.
That’s as close as the score would get the rest of the contest.
Jemison answered with a 21-yard TD pass from Clements to Patrick Sims and then a 14-yard touchdown run by Swindle.
The score was 27-6 with 5:34 to go in the second quarter.
Isa Bentley and Swindle again scored two more rushing touchdowns before the break.
Neither team scored in the third quarter.
Holt added three touchdowns in the fourth quarter, but it was too little, too late. Dustin McDonald also ran in from 21 yards out to cap Jemison’s scoring for the night.
On defense, Cody Greer was all over the ball and grabbed two interceptions.
Cole Thompson also blocked a punt for the Panthers.
Rebels fail to turn recent success into winning streak
Thorsby fell behind and could never catch up in a 20-12 region loss at Hale County.
Hale County (7-2, 5-2 Class 2A, Region 4) built a 14-0 lead in the first quarter, and touchdown passes by Thorsby quarterback Andrew Farris to Marcus Bray (76 yards) and Eric Camarillo (25 yards) weren’t enough to get the Rebels (2-7, 2-5) back even.
Farris completed seven passes in 18 attempts for 140 yards.
Stephen Mims set up the first Thorsby score with an interception, and Nathan Moore did likewise with the second Thorsby score.
The Rebels will not qualify for a berth in the state playoffs and so will conclude their season when Winterboro visits on Thursday.
But the season has already included the end of a 17-game losing streak that dated back to Oct. 26, 2007 and a win over county rival Isabella for the first time since 2006.
The team’s 11 seniors will be recognized at halftime.