JA Wins Big in Season Opener

By Bryan Eubank

The JA Raiders made a statement in their season opener at The Brickyard on Friday night by taking down the Northeast Lauderdale Trojans 35-7 in the third straight meeting between the two teams. The win helped extend the Raiders home win streak to 37 in a row. It also marked the 150th win for Coach David Sykes in his coaching career.

JA got off to a quick start when Duncan Maxwell rumbled 86 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage. The Raiders scored on three of their next four possessions. Daniel Kennedy (11 yard run) andDuncan Maxwell (59 yard run) scored on the ground while David Ford grabbed a Colin Welsh pass for the final score of the first half.

JA wasted no time in scoring in the second half either as Sam Thomas forced a fumble that Peyton Adamsscooped up and ran 42 yards to daylight.

The lone Trojans score came in the 4th quarter as Stevie Sanders capped off a 9 play – 84 yard drive with the clock running.

Duncan Maxwell finished with 230 all purpose yards and two touchdowns (178 yards on 8 carries, had 1 catch for 45 yards and a punt return for 7 yards). Peyton Adams was the leading tackler (8 tackles – 4 solo, 4 assists) and had 2 pass break ups and a fumble recovery for a TD.

The Raiders travel next to St. George’s Independent School. Kickoff is at 7:00pm in Collierville, Tennessee. The Countdown to Kickoff Pregame Show will start at 6:00pm on SuperSport 930.

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Photo by Sarah Jane Lowery