Despite racking up 321 in total yards, including 213 yards through the air, the Vidalia Indians could only reach the end zone one time and fell to the 6th ranked Yellow Jackets of Jeff Davis High School 26-7, Friday in Hazelhurst.
The Indians reached the red zone 4 times against a very physical Jacket defense but only managed a lone touchdown in the 4th quarter to cut the Jeff Davis lead to 20-7. The Indians kept pace with the Jackets on the statistical side of the ball, out-gaining Jeff Davis 222-166 in the 2nd half. With the loss, the Indians fall to 1-5 and 0-1 in Region play.
Jeff Davis opened the game on offense and immediately went to work driving the ball 65 yards in 6:43 to take a 6-0 lead when Kiyon Dotson took it in from 3 yards to cap the 12 play drive. The PAT was unsuccessful, and with 5:17 to go in the 1st quarter, Jeff Davis led 6-0.
The Indians would get one first down on their first possession of the night before being forced to punt from their 42-yard line.
The Jackets would waste little time taking just six plays to score on an Aahiyus Allen 3-yard run with 2:29 to go in the opening quarter. The Jackets would take a 14-0 lead, converting on the 2-point try
The Indian’s best chance to put points on the board in the first half came on their next possession, taking the ball from their 35-yard line to the Jeff Davis 17 yard line before bogging down and missing a 40-yard Field Goal after a low snap.
The 2nd half began with the Indians taking the ball at their 33-yard line. From there, they would drive it out to the 49 before a fumble gave the Jackets the ball at the 44-yard line. Three plays later, C.J. Parker would score on a 23-yard reverse to put Jeff Davis up 20-0 following a missed 2-point conversion.
The Indians would then settle down and take the ball from their 32 to the Jacket 13 and appeared set to score, but the Jackets would intercept a Bryce Davis pass and return it to the 18-yard line.
The Indian defense would hold the Jackets to just six plays on the ensuing possession, forcing Jeff Davis to punt and the Indians taking the ball at the 48-yard line. From there, the Indians began their best drive of the night, a seven-play 52-yard drive that resulted in their only points, on a Davis to Jacaree Washington 10 yard pass with 11:53 to go in the game. The PAT was good, and the Indians trimmed the lead to 20-7. In addition to Washington, Dugan Johnson came away with critical catches on the drive.
The Indians defense again held Jeff Davis on their next possession and forced the Jackets to punt again. This time Vidalia would drive the ball from their 13-yard line to the Jacket 10, with Davis providing a key run and Carson Ricks making a drive-saving catch at the Jacket 7-yard line. But the Jeff Davis defense would end the Indians’ hope for another score when Parker would intercept a Davis pass in the end zone, killing the drive with 5:15 to go in the game.
Jeff Davis would move the ball from the shadow of their end zone out to the 46-yard line before they were forced to punt. This time Kade Harpe would drop a 40-yard punt and pin the Indians the 6-yard line with 2:43 to go in the game and the Indians out of timeouts.
But the drive would end on the first play when a deflected pass would fall into the hands of a Jacket, giving them 1st and goal from the Indian 5-yard line. Dotson would put the icing on the cake with a 5-yard run to make the final score 26-7 following a missed PAT.
Bryce Davis was 19-31 through the air on the night, with one touchdown and three interceptions. He also had 66-yards rushing on 14 carries. Jacaree Washington pulled down seven passes for 89-yards, while Dugan Johnson had 60-yards on five catches. On the defensive side of the ball Freshman Sam Sapp lead the way with 65 tackles and Ronald Pointer credited with 5.0.
Next up for the Indians will be Homecoming 2021, when they host the East Laurens Falcons, Friday night at Buck Cravey Field, with kickoff scheduled for 7:30 P.M. (Courtesy of Vidalia High School)
