On Military Appreciation Night at Greyhound Stadium, the Jones County Greyhounds delivered an impressive performance, defeating the Eagles Landing Christian Academy (ELCA) Chargers 33–21 in a key Region 2-AAAA matchup.
The Greyhounds entered the game 5–2 overall (4–2 in region play), while ELCA came in 2–5 (2–4 region). Both teams are led by first-year head coaches — Justin Montgomery for Jones County and Justin Roberts for the Chargers. This was only the second-ever meeting between the two programs; Jones County won the first 42–14 last season.
Jones County won the toss and deferred to the second half. The Chargers’ opening drive was marred by penalties and miscues, forcing a turnover on downs deep in their own territory. The Greyhounds took over at the ELCA 31-yard line on their first possession but were unable to move the ball and turned it back over on downs.
Once again, ELCA’s offense stalled due to penalties, and the Chargers handed the ball back to Jones County — this time giving the Greyhounds excellent field position at the 25-yard line. Jones County capitalized quickly, as quarterback Cason Taylor found Nate Vaughn in the end zone for a touchdown strike. Jacob Watts PAT gave the Greyhounds an early 7–0 lead.
On their next possession, the Greyhounds once again found the end zone. Starting near midfield, they methodically drove 48 yards in eight plays, capped by a 17-yard touchdown pass from Taylor to Drew Williams. A low snap led to a blocked PAT, leaving Jones County ahead 13–0 with 1:40 remaining in the first quarter.
ELCA finally broke through midway through the second quarter. Quarterback Cason Carrigan capped a 73-yard drive with a 1-yard sneak, and Alex Quinn’s PAT cut the lead to 13–7.
Jones County had one more drive in the final 4 minutes of the first half on the ensuing kickoff that ended 6 inches short of the goal line on a fourth and goal from the one. Quarterback Taylor appeared to get tripped by a pulling guard as he took the snap from under center and as he was falling he handed off to Caden Kanty, who he himself was tripped, and as he fell forward with the ball he landed inches short with only 25 seconds and as we entered the intermission, the Hounds had a slim 13-7 lead.
Jones County wasted no time extending its lead in the second half. After being backed up by penalties, Taylor connected with Vaughn for a 65-yard touchdown bomb, and Watts’ PAT made it 20–7 with 10:37 left in the third quarter.
Following another defensive stand, the Greyhounds took over at their own 20-yard line and marched 80 yards in seven plays. Taylor once again connected with Vaughn — this time on a 56-yard touchdown pass. Vaughn hauled it in at the 20, broke a tackle at the 10, and sprinted into the end zone for his third touchdown of the night. The two point conversion failed and the score remained 26–7.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Greyhounds added one more exclamation point. Freshman running back Laquan Pendleton took a handoff off left tackle, turned the corner, and outran the defense, untouched, for a 39-yard touchdown. Watts’ PAT made it 33–7 with 11:03 remaining.
ELCA showed fight late, scoring twice in the final period. Backup Quarterback Luke Stensell, who entered the game as starting QB Carrigan went down with an injury on the final play of the 3rd quarter, properly came in and on the third play hit Cam Matthews with a beautiful pass in stride for a 52-yard touchdown, then the Chargers added a 7-yard touchdown run by Aiden Matthews in the final minutes. ELCA made both extra point tries by Quinn to make the final 33–21.
The victory keeps Jones County firmly in the Region 2-AAAA playoff hunt. Locust Grove leads the region at 6–1, while Ola, Stockbridge, Hampton, and Jones County are all tied for second at 5–2, setting up a dramatic finish to the regular season.
The Sportsmic Offensive Players of the Game were quarterback Cason Taylor and wide receiver Nate Vaughn, who connected for three touchdowns — two of them over 50 yards. The Sportsmic Defensive Player of the Game was Isaac Elliott, who spent the night in ELCA’s backfield delivering big hits.
The Tri-Co-Go High-Speed Play of the Game went to freshman Laquan Pendleton for his 39-yard touchdown run.
Jones County (6–2, 5–2) will have a bye week before traveling to McDonough to face the Eagles Landing Golden Eagles in their final road game of the regular season. Then Greyhounds will then close out the regular season on Halloween Night at home against the Locust Grove Wildcats— a game that could have major playoff implications.
