By Clint Cox
Three of the county’s four varsity football programs took to the field last Friday night for their respective preseason outings. Sneads and Graceville did battle against each other in a Kickoff Classic format while Marianna played host to a jamboree and played a half against both East Gadsden and Liberty County.
In Sneads the Pirates hosted the Tigers in an all Jackson County Kickoff Classic and played to a 14-14 tie at the end of regulation. Given that it was preseason game, no tie breaker was played as both squads were ready to move on and begin preparations for their season openers this Friday. Sneads held a 7-0 halftime lead after senior running back Mark Lawson hauled in a 51 yard scoring strike from Terrance Green. Graceville got on the scoreboard in the second half when Treyshaun White picked off a Sneads pass deep in Pirate territory. Leron Hoover bulled his way across the goal line several plays later on a 2 yard run. The extra point conversion attempt failed and Graceville trailed Sneads 7-6 midway through the third quarter. Sneads got their own third quarter score as Lawson ripped off a 53 yard scoring jaunt to put the Pirates up 14-6. Late in the 4th quarter the Tiger defense forced a Sneads punt from deep inside Pirate territory. Graceville got the ball at the Pirate 27 yard line and with just over a minute to play Hoover scored his second TD of the night on a 1 yard plunge. Tiger QB Jacky Miles, just a freshman, then lofted a pass to Jamal Miller for a two point conversion to tie the game at 14-14.
In Marianna the Bulldogs had the turnover bug in both halves, first against East Gadsden and then again in the third half against Liberty County. In all the Bulldogs had four fumbles, an interception and a bad snap over the punter’s head that resulted in a touchdown. Marianna fell behind in the first half as the Jaguars scored on their opening possession. On Marianna’s opening possession, after being forced to punt, is when the miscue of the snap occurred. A Jaguar recovered the high snap in the end zone for a touchdown and the Bulldogs quickly trailed 13-0. East Gadsden then picked off a Bulldog pass on the next Marianna possession and cashed in on good field position with their third TD of the game, taking a 19-0 lead. Marianna finally caught a break when Tommy Stephens forced a Jaguar fumble and Dalton Bennett recovered. Hakeem Holmes entered the game at quarterback and provided some offensive spark to get the Dogs moving. Holmes then rambled his way 14 yards for a score midway through the second quarter. Ryan Rudd added the point after kick to make it 19-7. Marianna had one more possession in the half but a fumble ended that drive and left the score at 19-7 when the half ended.
After Liberty County downed East Gadsden 14-0 in the second half of action, they took on Marianna in the third and final half of the evening. The turnover bug was still with Marianna as they lost two more fumbles in the half and fell 14-8. Liberty County took the opening possession and drove the length of the field for a score. After a Bulldog fumble, Liberty County found the end zone again to take a 14-0 lead. Both teams traded fumbles over the next couple of possessions but Marianna got some new life with a 91 yard sprint by Charles Barnes for a touchdown in the second quarter. Barnes added a two point conversion run to make it a 14-8 game. The Bulldogs then executed an on side kick with kicker Rudd recovering the ball at the Jaguars 48 yard line. But Marianna could not capitalize and the clock ran out on their comeback efforts.
Three of the county’s four varsity football programs took to the field last Friday night for their respective preseason outings. Sneads and Graceville did battle against each other in a Kickoff Classic format while Marianna played host to a jamboree and played a half against both East Gadsden and Liberty County.
In Sneads the Pirates hosted the Tigers in an all Jackson County Kickoff Classic and played to a 14-14 tie at the end of regulation. Given that it was preseason game, no tie breaker was played as both squads were ready to move on and begin preparations for their season openers this Friday. Sneads held a 7-0 halftime lead after senior running back Mark Lawson hauled in a 51 yard scoring strike from Terrance Green. Graceville got on the scoreboard in the second half when Treyshaun White picked off a Sneads pass deep in Pirate territory. Leron Hoover bulled his way across the goal line several plays later on a 2 yard run. The extra point conversion attempt failed and Graceville trailed Sneads 7-6 midway through the third quarter. Sneads got their own third quarter score as Lawson ripped off a 53 yard scoring jaunt to put the Pirates up 14-6. Late in the 4th quarter the Tiger defense forced a Sneads punt from deep inside Pirate territory. Graceville got the ball at the Pirate 27 yard line and with just over a minute to play Hoover scored his second TD of the night on a 1 yard plunge. Tiger QB Jacky Miles, just a freshman, then lofted a pass to Jamal Miller for a two point conversion to tie the game at 14-14.
In Marianna the Bulldogs had the turnover bug in both halves, first against East Gadsden and then again in the third half against Liberty County. In all the Bulldogs had four fumbles, an interception and a bad snap over the punter’s head that resulted in a touchdown. Marianna fell behind in the first half as the Jaguars scored on their opening possession. On Marianna’s opening possession, after being forced to punt, is when the miscue of the snap occurred. A Jaguar recovered the high snap in the end zone for a touchdown and the Bulldogs quickly trailed 13-0. East Gadsden then picked off a Bulldog pass on the next Marianna possession and cashed in on good field position with their third TD of the game, taking a 19-0 lead. Marianna finally caught a break when Tommy Stephens forced a Jaguar fumble and Dalton Bennett recovered. Hakeem Holmes entered the game at quarterback and provided some offensive spark to get the Dogs moving. Holmes then rambled his way 14 yards for a score midway through the second quarter. Ryan Rudd added the point after kick to make it 19-7. Marianna had one more possession in the half but a fumble ended that drive and left the score at 19-7 when the half ended.
After Liberty County downed East Gadsden 14-0 in the second half of action, they took on Marianna in the third and final half of the evening. The turnover bug was still with Marianna as they lost two more fumbles in the half and fell 14-8. Liberty County took the opening possession and drove the length of the field for a score. After a Bulldog fumble, Liberty County found the end zone again to take a 14-0 lead. Both teams traded fumbles over the next couple of possessions but Marianna got some new life with a 91 yard sprint by Charles Barnes for a touchdown in the second quarter. Barnes added a two point conversion run to make it a 14-8 game. The Bulldogs then executed an on side kick with kicker Rudd recovering the ball at the Jaguars 48 yard line. But Marianna could not capitalize and the clock ran out on their comeback efforts.
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