Jay's head coach Kersey
COTTONDALE – Jay scored early and often in the first half here Friday night and the Royals' defense pitched a shutout as Jay rolled to a 40-0 win at Cottondale.
Jay (1-1) will be back on the road this Friday night with a 7 p.m. kickoff at Rocky Bayou, will travel to Wewahitchka on Sept. 14 and will return home on Sept. 21 to host Escambia Academy.
"We played really well," said Jay head coach Melvin Kersey. "There's still room for improvement, but the kids played hard and I'm real proud of how the offensive line rebounded from last week."
Jay opened the season on Aug. 24 at home with a 27-0 loss to Flomaton.
"We did a good job blocking, ran the ball well and passed the ball well," Kersey said.
Jay rushed 45 times for 261 yards with James Eddings picking up 160 yards on 27 carries and four touchdowns and Solomon Ransom had 65 yards on 12 carries.
Quarterback Judd Smith connected on three of five passes for 60 yards and a touchdown as the Royals racked up 321 yards of total offense.
Jay opened the scoring early when Eddings ran into the end zone from 1-yard out less than a minute into the first quarter. Smith then hit Stone Brown on a two-point pass play and with 11:01 left in the first quarter and Jay led 8-0.
Eddings was back in the end zone with 8:28 left in the first quarter on a 2 yard run. The two-point try failed, but the Royals had increased the lead to 14-0.
It was Eddings on a 9-yard touchdown with 1:20 left to play in the first quarter to keep the Royals' offense rolling. The two-point try failed, but Jay had a 20-0 lead at the end of the first quarter.
Jay's defense got into the scoring column in the second quarter when Bryson McCullough intercepted a pass and returned it 42 yards for a touchdown. Eddings then carried the two-point try into the end zone and Jay had increased the lead to 28-0.
Eddings found himself back in the end zone in the second quarter on a 17-yard touchdown run. The two-point try failed and Jay led 34-0.
Smith hit Brenton Eister on a 22-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter and Jay's PAT failed to leave the score 40-0 at the half.
Kersey said a decision was made at the half to run the clock during the second half, which resulted in no more points on the scoreboard.
"We were able to play everybody," Kersey said. "At this point in the season, that was very important. We continue to try and develop depth and it was a good opportunity for kids to step up and get game experience."
