Jay's Brenton Eister (20) tries to strip the ball from Shannon Wheat (1)
It was a game of two halves. Jay took an 8-0 lead into the lockerroom at the half against Escambia Academy and led 20-15 after three quarters before the Cougars outscored the Royals 15-0 in the fourth to claim the 30-20 victory.
"We were up 20-15 going into the fourth and were down 23-20 and driving with under 3 minutes to play," said Jay head coach Melvin Kersey.
Kersey said the Royals reached the 8-yard line before being flagged for holding and later fumbled to kill the scoring threat.
"We had our opportunities, but didn't make the plays when we needed to," Kersey said. "They have a good football team, but we had our opportunities to win the football game."
Patrick McGhee was again the workhorse for the Cougars, picking up 258 yards rushing on 17 carries and scoring three touchdowns.
"Patrick has rushed for more than 200 yards for the third straight week," said Escambia Academy head coach Hugh Fountain. "Penalties were bad in this game. We helped them convert at least three times in the second half."
He also said two EA turnovers in the first half kept the Cougars from scoring.
"Jay is a tough bunch," Fountain said. "Eddings (James Eddings) is very tough and runs hard. We're very pleased to get a victory."
Eddings ended the night with 123 yards rushing on 38 carries and scored one touchdown.
Escambia Academy will host Bessemer Academy this Friday night and Jay will host Baker. Both kickoffs are set for 7 p.m.
"Bessemer has been a powerhouse for many years," Fountain said. "It will be a tough game."
Although Jay does not play a district schedule any more, Baker was in the district for many, many years.
"It doesn't get any easier," Kersey said. "They are an old district foe and it's a rivalry game. They have a very good football team."
Kersey said the Royals will have to play well and cut out mistakes.
"If we do that, we have a chance," he said.
The first half this past Friday night was a defensive struggle with Jay picking up the only points on a 54-yard fumble return by Solomon Ransom. Eddings then carried the two-point try into the end zone and with 7:56 left in the second quarter Jay led 8-0, which held until the half.
EA put its first points on the board with 11:06 left in the third quarter when Jabe Dawe hit Chase Bell on a 73-yard scoring pass. McGhee carried the two-point try across the goal line and the game was tied at 8-8.
Jay regained the lead later in the third when Smith scored from 1 yard out. The PAT attempt was no good but Jay led 14-8.
McGhee then broke free on an 81-yard touchdown run with 5:39 left in the third quarter. Sam Martin kicked the PAT and Cougars led 15-14.
Eddings then hit Austin Ainsworth on a 35-yard touchdown pass. A two-point try failed, but the Royals regained the lead at 20-15.
McGhee scored on a 3-yard run with 9:09 left in the fourth quarter and Dawe then hit McGhee for two points to give Escambia Academy a 23-20 lead.
McGhee slammed the door on any possible Royal comeback with 56 seconds left in the game when he broke free on a 66-yard touchdown run. The PAT was good to make the final score 30-20.
Jay ended the night with 142 yards rushing on 50 carries. In addition to Eddings' 123 yards Connor Roberts had 15 yards on three carries and Smith had 3 yards rushing. The Royals picked up 66 yards through the air for for a total offensive effort of 208.
Escambia Academy had 278 yards rushing and 116 passing for a total offensive effort of 394.
