AMORY — The Caledonia and Amory high school football teams entered their Mississippi High School Activities Association Class 4A, Region 4 game Friday night winless in division play, but with different goals in mind.
The Panthers needed to win their final two games to reach the playoffs, while the Confederates looked to notch their first win after eight consecutive setbacks.
Thanks to its quarterbacks, Amory took the first step to realizing its goal as it earned a 42-0 victory.
Freshman starter Hunter Jones was 12-for-14 for 202 yards and a touchdown, while Wildcat signal-caller J.J. Jernighan was a 2-for-2 for 15 yards and a score. Both had rushing touchdowns.
The highlight, though, was a 98-yard scamper by Tamarcus Hardy after a missed field goal. The touchdown was the “Play of the Night” on WTVA’s Friday Night Fever broadcast.
“A ton of penalties and turnovers cost us, as well as missed tackles,” said Caledonia coach Ricky Kendrick, who is in the first year of his second stint as the coach of the program. “We usually stay close the first quarter or quarter-and-a-half, but then we don’t have the numbers (players) to finish.
“Not making excuses, but we’ve had a rash of injuries this season — broken bones and concussions suffered by 15 starters. We sat down this week and figured out we’ve lost the services of those injured players and it has added up to 54 games they’ve missed. You name it and we’ve seen it with broken arms, broken collarbones, toes and hands, and at least four concussions, and it’s been rough.”
Continuing the injury trend, tight end Christian Lingle was involved in a car accident Monday and didn’t play, while Hunter Harris was taken by ambulance to the hospital after suffering a possible concussion in the third quarter.
“This makes the second week in a row we’ve had a player carted off in an ambulance, and it just demoralizes the kids to see a teammate hurt bad enough to go to the hospital,” Kendrick said.
Despite the score, Kendrick wasn’t down on his team.
“We played as well as could be expected under the circumstances,” Kendrick said. “We moved the ball on offense, but then a turnover or penalties would stop us.”
Caledonia looked anything but a winless team on its first possession, a 16-play drive that carried it from its 32-yard line to the Amory 7, only to have two failed attempts at a field goal end the threat.
Quarterback Seth Brown fumbled and then recovered the snap on Caledonia’s first play, but he marched the Confederates down the field despite one holding penalty that cost Graham Weseli a 21-yard run on a reverse before he was run out of bounds at the 2 and three false starts on a drive that consumed all but 4 minutes, 35 seconds of the first quarter.
Brown completed 3 of 4 passes to Dylan Hankins (15 and 11) and Camden Hurst (12) good for 38 yards, while Brayden Gholson and Hankins ate up the remaining yardage on the ground.
Facing a fourth-and-9 from the 12, Kendrick elected to go for a field goal. Brown momentarily bobbled the snap, but Wes Rollins still managed to get the kick off but it fell short. Amory was penalized on the play, however, for running into the kicker, but Martavious Walker blocked Rollins’ second attempt.
Amory countered with a 13-play, 85-yard march that Jones capped with a 5-yard. Aaron Goldman added the kick with 30 seconds left in the quarter.
Two fumble recoveries by Amory in the next five-and-a-half minutes led to two touchdowns and a three-touchdown advantage.
Caledonia’s first turnover gave Amory the ball at the Confederates’ 45. Jones promptly found Jernighan for a 22-yard pickup. He then connected with Trendon Gillon on a 23-yard scoring pass with 9:47 left in the second quarter.
On the first play following the ensuing kickoff, Amory recovered a fumble at the Caledonia 30. A 15-yard unsportsmanlike penalty on an Amory coach slowed the attack a bit, but Jones had completions to Jernighan (10) and Chris Satterwhite (16). He then added a 15-yard scamper to set up an 11-yard touchdown toss from Jernighan to Gillon.
Goldman’s kicks made it 21-0 with less than seven minutes to play in the period.
On Caledonia’s next possession, Rollins’ field goal attempt on fourth-and-6 from the Amory 32 fell into Hardy’s hands at about the 3 and the return specialist responded with a 97-yard return.
Caledonia’s subsequent possession ended when a fake punt pass completion from punter Hunter McMurphy fell 4 yards short of a first down at the Confederates’ 44.
Four plays later and with 35 seconds left in the quarter, Jernighan scored on a 2-yard run. A 38-yard Jones to Camden Parks pass-run was the big play in the drive.
Goldman’s kicks following Hardy’s return and Jernighan’s run gave Amory a 35-0 halftime lead.
“That last one (the fake punt) was on me,” Kendrick said.
Caledonia’s Kevin Robinson saved a touchdown on Amory’s first possession of the third quarter when he caught Jones from behind after a 35-yard pass reception. Jedarius Gore recovered a fumble two plays later to hand the ball to the offense.
Playing with a running clock in the second half and following a scoreless third period, Amory added a 20-yard run by Satterwhite, who had 72 yards rushing on the drive. Goldman’s sixth kick accounted for the final margin.
“The kids executed well on offense and the shutout on defense was good, too, and all that starts in practice during the week” Amory coach Allen Glenn said. “We had our backs to the wall and have to win our last two games to get to the playoffs and this was the first step. Next up is Mooreville, and it’s win and you’re in.”
Caledonia had 225 yards (170 rushing, 55 passing). Amory had 370 yards (153, 217).
Hankins led all rushers with 101 yards on 10 carries, while Satterwhite paced the Panthers with 71 yards on seven carries.
Five receivers caught passes from Jones: Gillon (four for 58), Parks (three for 56), Immanuel Jones (three for 52), Jernighan (three for 35), and Satterwhite (one for 16).
Hankins also led Caledonia with two receptions for 26 yards.
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