Jackson Christian falls short
Jackson Christian played one of its better games of the season Friday, but it was not enough to hold off a talented Davidson Academy of Nashville team as the Bears won 24-0 at Ronnie Fowler Field on a rainy Friday night.
“Defensively we played our best game of the season tonight against a very good team,” Jackson Christian coach Todd Roland said. “Our defense, other than the two scoring drives Davidson Academy had in the third quarter, played a strong game against a very good team.”
PHOTO GALLERY: Bleachers - Jackson Christian vs. Davidson Academy
In the first half the Eagle defense held the potent Bear offense to just 36 yards rushing and 122 yards passing. For the game Davidson Academy had only 79 yards rushing but did most of its damage through the air with 239 yards of passing.
But the Davidson Academy played a pretty solid first half of defense itself, holding Jackson Christian to just 91 yards of total offense.
The Eagles did have a chance to put points on the board just before the half when the defense forced and recovered a fumble on the Davidson 44-yard line with 14 seconds left before half time.
Jackson Christian quarterback Will Buehler hit Collen Cantrell for a 22-yard gain and with five seconds left on the clock a 37-yard field goal attempt came up short.
Davidson Academy took a 7-0 lead into the half. The Bears’ score came on a five-yard touchdown pass from Kyle Gilbert to Jackson Broadwell to cap off a 40 yard eight play drive.
Davidson Academy came out strong in the third quarter, scoring on its first two possessions of the second half.
Their first drive of the second half was capped off by a two-yard run up the middle by running back Zack Swinea.
The Bears’ second drive of the third quarter consisted of three passing plays that covered 61 yards, with the final play being a 26-yard touchdown pass from Gilbert to Broadwell again.
The Eagles’ best scoring opportunity in the second half came early in the fourth quarter after senior running back Clay Lewis ran through several tackles to get a first down with a 39-yard run. Unfortunately the Eagles turned the ball over on downs at the Davidson 18-yard line.
Davidson’s Gilbert, who played quarterback and outside linebacker and handled all the kicking duties, kicked a 37-yard field goal in the fourth quarter to make the final score 24-0.
“This was a very good football team we played tonight and our guys competed with them all night,” said Rowland, “We are a young team with only six seniors that have played football before this year.
“I hate that we cannot win now for those seniors but they are doing a tremendous job showing leadership skills to the younger players on the team that are the future of this program.”
Jackson Christian (1-6) will host Region 6-2A opponent McKenzie next Friday night on senior night at Ronnie Fowler Field.