Friday's final:
Andrew Jackson 28, Clay 14
By Devon Jeffreys
Special to myclaysun.com
The Andrew Jackson Tigers and Clay Blue Devils waited through a 40-minute
lightning delay before their game Friday night. After the delay,
Jackson running back Antonio Lenton provided the thunder.
The bruising senior rushed 20 times for 117 yards and a touchdown,
pounding the Clay defense and leading the Tigers to a 28-14 victory
Friday night in Jacksonville.
“We had very good blocking from the linemen,” Lenton said. “Once we
got through the line, we got to the secondary and that opened up real
nice for us.”
Clay (1-1) jumped on the board first when Jackson’s Marquel Wade
muffed a punt and the Blue Devils fell on the loose ball at the
Jackson 3. Quarterback Stephon Herrons snuck into the end zone on
fourth down to give Clay a 7-0 lead.
That was all the scoring the Blue Devils would do in the first half.
Late in the first quarter, Jackson’s Nigel Mitchell completed a 50-
yard swing pass to Wade, setting up a Chris Campbell 3-yard touchdown
run. The Tigers took a 14-7 lead with 2:08 left in the second quarter
with a 25-yard pass from Cory Addison to Dorian Guy.
“We threw the ball effectively at times,” Jackson coach Kevin
Sullivan said. “To be able to throw the ball and to mix in the run is
always good.”
Jackson (2-1) did more than mix in the run, handing it off 41 times
for 154 yards and two touchdowns.
The Tigers defense forced three turnovers — two interceptions by
Hakeem Johnson and a fumble that Derek Owens brought back 20 yards
for a touchdown.
“We simply just made more mistakes than they did,” Clay coach Jim
Reape said. “We turned the ball over too many times.”
Clay running back Quinton Battle led the Blue Devils’ ground attack
with 11 carries for 58 yards and a touchdown.
“We weren’t consistent and made too many fumbles,” Battle said. “We
have to be consistent.”
Clay hosts Port Orange Atlantic next week.