THURSDAY PREPS: Carver comes from behind to top Jeff Davis
By GRAHAM DUNN
The Jeff Davis Volunteers were givers and takers in their city battle with G.W. Carver on Thursday night.
For the Wolverines, that was good news in the end, particularly the giving part.
JD took a 14-7 lead in to the final quarter only to squander it away with turnovers and penalties as Carver came from behind in the final minute to earn a 21-14 win at Cramton Bowl.
JD, looking for its first win of the season, took a seven-point lead with 3:09 left in the third quarter thanks to a 17-play drive that ate up 8:51 of the clock. The drive culminated with a Josh Richardson 16-yard scamper to put the Vols up for the first time in the game.
Carver would fumble away the kickoff giving JD excellent field position but the Vols were unable to move the football and gave it back in Carver territory.
Carver would run its first and only play of the period with 15 seconds remaining in the third quarter.
Carver’s struggles showed up early in the fourth period but at that point, the Vols were unable to hold on the football. JD suffered two turnovers allowing Carver to tie the game and eventually win it.
The first came with 4:26 left that led to a game-tying score on a 12-yard pass from Jamar Green to Marquan Jamerson. Sidney Franklin’s extra point tied the score at 14-14 with 3:17 remaining.
On the ensuing kickoff, Jeff Davis gave the ball back to the Wolverines when the kick was muffed near the JD 40-yard line with just over three minutes left.
Carver drove to the JD 25 and had a fourth-and-5 to go, but the Vols were caught with too many players on the field, giving the Wolverines new life with a first down at the 20.
Two plays later, Green threw his second TD pass of the quarter to Franklin for 18 yards with 52 seconds left to give Carver the lead.
In the final 50 seconds, JD drove inside Carver territory only to have a bad snap on the final play of the game end the chance of a comeback.
Josh Richardson led the Vols with 89 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries. His 6-yard run tied the score at 7-7 with 5:23 to play in the half.
Carver’s Green passed for 138 yards, two TDs and an interception on 10-of-20 attempts. Desmond Hordges had a 5-yard run for a touchdowns for the Woverines.
The win improved Carver to 3-2 for the year while JD dropped to 0-5. Carver will face Robert E. Lee in a key Class 6A, Region 2 games next Thursday while JD plays host to Smiths Station on Saturday, Oct. 2.