Eastside lineman James Henderson clears a path for quarterback Sir Jackson to run against Leesburg during their spring scrimmage on Thursday at Citizens Field. Matt Stamey/Staff photographer
By Gerald Lacey
Staff Writer
Carver Heights Quarterback Club
May 25, 2012
GAINESVILLE - Leesburg second year head coach Randy Trivers and his Yellow Jackets squad traveled to Citizens Field Thursday night. They face a Eastside program that has been revitalized by first year head coach Jeff Parker. The visiting Yellow Jackets rallied for two touchdowns in the fourth
quarter, capping it with a 44-yard scoring run by sophomore Bryant
"Mr. No" Benton to beat Eastside 27-26.
"It felt more then great being on the offensive side of the ball during the key moments of the game," said Benton with lots of enthusiasm in his voice.
Benton a sophomore last season spent most of his time playing on the defense last season. He will be seeing a lot more time on offense this upcoming season after his big time spring game performance.
Eastside came into the game with a renewed attitude and a sense of urgency. The Rams offense showed that it can move the football with 223 total yards in the first half. New offensive coordinator Willie Jackson's offense had several big plays and will be a force to deal with in the upcoming season. The offense was led by Jackson's son at quarterback, Sir Jackson who threw three touchdown passes of 22, 59 and 38 yards and had 144 total passing yards, along with 76 yards
rushing on seven attempts. This from a team that was shut out four
times last season.
Jackson only completed four passes in the first half with three of those
going for TDs. The first was a connection with Keandre McCray for a
22-yard score, tying the game up at 6.
“I was pleased with the boys. We lost, but we came out here to get better,” said second-year Eastside coach Jeff Parker.
“We were putting points on the board, moving the ball up and down the field, but we had turnovers and we have to correct that. You come out here and score a bunch of points, and your defense shuts them out that gives you a false sense of security. These boys are hungry and they need to stay hungry.”
The Leesburg "Black Jackets" defense came up with big stops when it needed to. The Jackets intercepted Jackson twice and caused two fumbles, one returned for a Leesburg touchdown by Austin Walker for a 6-0 lead in the first quarter.
"I think the key to coming back in that game Thursday was our ability to
handle and embrace adversity," said OLB Jordan Tucker the #50 rated prospect in Florida according to the Miami Herald High School Sports Blog.
Jackson found a streaking Jamari Walker, who caught the pass and ran 59 yards down the left sideline for a score to tie the game at 13 all. Just before halftime Jackson found a wide-open David Smith on a 38-yard scoring strike to put the Eastside ahead, 20-13. The Eastside crowd erupted after the score and the Rams went into halftime with momentum on their side.
"At halftime we had no heads down, nothing
but positivity and ways to get back into it," said Tucker after going into halftime down by seven. "Thanks to Coach Trivers
and his great coaching a halftime deficit doesn't phase us at all".
The Jackets came out of the half and found itself in a deeper hole early in the third quarter. Richard Williams had the third interception of the night against the Leesburg offense, returning it 61 yards to the Jackets' 9-yard line. Two plays later, LaMartinez Walker ran it in from six yards, and Eastside opened a 26-13 lead early in the third.
The Black Jackets came up big once again on the last play of the third quarter when it recovered a Eastside fumble at the Rams 17 yard line. A16-yard run by Benton set up a one-yard plunge for a score, bringing the Yellow Jackets within six, 26-20 with 10:53 to play in the fourth quarter.
"We have to fix the little things in order to get to the top where we want to be during the fall season," said Benton.
"We have a lot of seniors but only one captain, so we do have to become a little more focused and mature to be successful," said Tucker.
Leesburg's defense gained momentum after the score on offense and on the next Rams possession its offensive sputtered. On Leesburg's next possession it got consecutive big runs from Benton, who ran for 18 and then 44 to tie the game at 26-26 with 4:38 left. Chandler Strong's extra-point kick was successful and proved to be the difference for the Jackets in their road win.
"My attitude towards the spring and the spring game win is we all played a
hard game, and went hard through out the spring," said Benton after the game. "So I can't just say
I'm satisfied with our team. I am proud and grateful to be a JACKET."
Parker praised the play of Sean Scott and Barry Johnson along the line.
“We found ourselves a linebacker in Sean Scott. He made a bunch of plays for us,” Parker said. “Barry Johnson had a really good game also. We put them in a couple of tough positions with the turnovers.
“We want to build a group of guys that keep fighting all the time. They came out here and fought until the end. We had plenty of chances down there, we just have to make some plays. We have to hold onto the ball. When it hits your two hands, you need to catch it.”
Tucker and the Jackets are looking forward to a great summer and hope that the win gives them some momentum going into the fall.
"Well after a good spring game I look forward to the fall," said Tucker after the come from behind win over Eastside. "Our team and
myself did some good things and I know there are some things for me to
work on so I look forward to getting better and having a good fall."
"The team including myself just has to keep working hard through the summer and just remember the taste of victory."
Resources
Sports Staff
Gainesville Sun
Matt Shamey
Staff Photographer
Gainesville Sun
May 24, 2012
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