Jackson Christian stayed undefeated in their game at Tipton-Rosemark on Friday.
More importantly, the Eagles stayed unbeaten in region play.
Jackson Christian (6-0, 2-0 Division II-A West) made it look easy with a 41-0 win over the previously unbeaten Rebels (5-1, 1-1), but head coach Darby Palmer said it’s not like that.
“I was telling the guys tonight that winning isn’t easy,” Palmer said. “It’s the little things you do each day that add up to wins in these big moments like we had tonight.”
The big moments came early and often for the Eagles.
Quarterback Austin Kelley connected with Trent Carrier for a 36-yard touchdown for the first score.
Kelley then connected with Daniel Green for a 10-year score.
The Eagles began to pull away in the second quarter when Easton Jones ran 52 yards for a score.
Kelley then threw to Jackson Collins for a 20-yard score.
It took five touchdowns before Kelley connected with Jay’Len Mosley, this time from 24 yards out.
“They came out defensively trying to shut Jay’Len out, but we did a good job of taking advantage of other opportunities that opened up,” Palmer said.
After no scoring in the third quarter, Kelley hit Mosley again from six yards out early in the fourth to get the mercy rule running clock going with the final score.
“[Defensive coordinator Rob Phillips] always does a good job of having our defense aligned with the other teams’ tendencies on offense and being aware of what they typically do in different situations,” Palmer said. “Tonight was another example of that.”
The Eagles have another unbeaten opponent within the region ahead of them next week.
First Assembly Christian School comes to Jackson Christian next week with a 5-0 record.
Brandon Shields, brandon@jacksonpost.news
