Southside returns home against Trojans
Published 9:00 pm Monday, October 17, 2016
- Zikijah Crawford takes a handoff in a game earlier in the season. He’s been consistent as his fellow backs continue to evolve into playmakers, too.
JONES SENIOR (3-4, 1-0 COASTAL PLAINS) AT SOUTHSIDE (5-3, 1-1 COASTAL PLAINS)
Location: Southside
Time: 7 p.m.
Southside’s sights are deadlocked on its sixth win of the season Tuesday when Jones Senior comes to Chocowinity. The Seahawks are returning home for the first time since getting blanked by East Carteret on Sept. 29, and the last time in the regular season. They bring with them the Anchor Bowl, which they claimed in decisive fashion at Northside last time out.
Jones Senior has similar goals in mind. Both teams will be chasing their second conference win. The Trojans demolished Lejeune, 72-0, in their first league contest of the year.
“They’re an athletic team, and Jones always plays us tough,” coach Jeff Carrow said. “We had a real battle with them last year. They have a really athletic quarterback.”
Junior quarterback Anthony Taylor will lead the Trojans offensively. He boasts the ability to almost single handedly take over a game both on the ground and through the air. He has thrown for nearly 600 yards and half a dozen touchdowns. He also leads Jones Senior’s rushing offense with 420 yards and eight scores.
Taylor has three upperclassmen targets he likes to use. Zach Brooks and Rasheed Cox each have over 200 receiving yards through seven games. Khadre Brooks has been efficient, too, with six catches for 161 yards and three touchdowns.
Malik Black is another player that will challenge the Seahawks. The two-way senior has 177 rushing yards and three touchdowns, which is good for second-best on the team. On the defensive side of the ball, Black also leads the team with 62 tackles. With 13 tackles for loss, he has made a habit of getting behind opponents’ offensive lines.
“He was all-conference and all-area last year,” Carrow said. “He’s a heck of a defensive player. Coach (Lewis) Hampton is going to have them ready.”
The Trojans as a whole have 32 tackles for loss on the seven-game season. Southside’s offensive line will need to have one of its best performances to make sure running back Zikijah Crawford and company aren’t stopped behind the line of scrimmage.
Crawford still comes in as Southside’s top rusher, but others continue to emerge each week. Against Northside, it was Kyle Hill that broke off an array of explosive plays for the Seahawks. He wasn’t able to score a touchdown, but he was instrumental in setting up Trajan Rhome and Crawford for their scores.
Southside won’t look to air it out like the Trojans do. That’s not to say that Marshall Medlock isn’t capable of exploiting a lax secondary, though. He continues to get more confident and accurate with each game.
PREDICTION: SOUTHSIDE 24, JONES SENIOR 21