Jones Senior's comeback bid falls short in loss to Pinetown Northside
By Kayla Morton
Washington Daily News
PINETOWN | After taking their second 10-point lead of the game with just over four minutes remaining, the Northside Panthers still had their hands full, having to stifle Jones Senior’s second comeback in the closing minutes to leave Senior Night with a win.
“The first quarter was really good, the first couple drives (we) stuck them in, scored 16, and then the whole rest of the daggone game had been a microcosm of our season, you know, penalties, and more penalties, turnovers and more turnovers, blown assignments and more blown assignments,” Northside head coach Keith Boyd said. “We have yet to put a whole game together and it’s just frustrating.”
The Panthers punched in a 3-yard score with 4:04 remaining in the game to lead it 22-12 and looked to have the game in the bag on the ensuing Jones Senior possession after Trojans quarterback Detorian Brown threw three consecutive incompletions from mindfield. However, on fourth down Brown connected with Jacob Kinsey for 25 yards to give Jones Senior a fresh set of downs from the Northside 25. On the next play, Brown showed off his scrambling ability and his accurate arm under pressure for the second consecutive play, as he found Kinsey again wide open down the left field line for the 25-yard score with 3:31 to play.
The Panthers couldn’t react quickly enough to recover the ensuing onside kick and the Trojans took over to start their drive from midfield. On third-and-1, Brown lined up for what looked to be a quarterback sneak, but once he took the snap, rolled out and looked downfield for a deep pass. Unfortunately for him, Northside’s Omari Crandell came up with the interception.
The Panthers moved the ball down to the Jones Senior 3 before taking two knees to run the clock out and hold on for the 22-20 victory.
“My kids never quit,” Jones Senior head coach Greg Hampton said. “We all decided we’re going to come together and we’re going to play (after Hurricane Florence) and that’s what these kids have done.”
