Jaguars survive scare from Weldon
Published 11:27 pm Friday, October 5, 2012
CREEKSVILLE — The Northampton County Jaguars held on for a 20-18 victory over the Weldon Chargers in front of a pumped up full house here for the first ever Homecoming game for the new school.
It didn’t take the Jags long to get the crowd excited as senior Brian Lassiter took the opening kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. The PAT by Fisher McInville was good and the Jags led 7-0 just 15 seconds into the game.
Following the kickoff, the Chargers took over on their own 31. After three plays they were forced to punt from their own 28. But punter and quarterback Malik Arrington pulled off a successful fake and hit senior running back Travon Shearin streaking down the left sidelines for a 62-yard touchdown. The two-point conversion try was no good leaving the Jaguars with a 7-6 lead.
Following a three-and-out by the Jags, the Chargers took the lead on a three-play 57-yard drive that culminated with a three-yard touchdown run by Shearin. The big play on the drive was a 43 yard scamper by junior fullback Langston Avens which set the Chargers up with a first and goal from the seven. Again the two-point conversion failed, but the Chargers had the lead 12-7 at the 5:57 mark of the first quarter.
The Jaguars took the ensuing kickoff and marched down to the Charger 19 where an interception and return set the Chargers up on their own 48-yard line.
But they were unable to move the ball as Jaleen Williams got the first of his two and a half sacks of the evening for the Jaguars.
Following the Charger punt, the Jags took over at their own 20. Four plays later they hit pay-dirt as junior quarterback Keion Crossen scampered around left end on a bootleg for a 47-yard touchdown run. The PAT by McInville was good and the Jaguars were back in front 14-12.
On their next drive the Chargers moved the ball into Jaguar territory, but a holding penalty and an intentional grounding penalty caused by pressure from Williams forced the Chargers to punt.
On the first play from scrimmage following the punt, Lassiter broke loose and scored on a 63-yard run. This time the PAT was wide right, but the Jaguars held a 20-12 lead with 8:42 left in the half.
The Chargers came right back and scored on the ensuing kickoff as Shearin lumbered 74 yards for a score. Again the two- point conversion was no good and the Jaguars took a 20-18 lead into the half.
The second half saw a defensive struggle as neither team was able to muster a score.
For the game, the Jaguar defense allowed the Chargers 100 yards rushing on 54 carries and 103 passing yards. The Jags had six sacks for the evening and an additional eight tackles for losses.
The Northampton offense mustered 225 yards rushing on 30 carries and 26 yards through the air. Leading rusher for the Jaguars was Lassiter with 126 yards on the night on 14 carries.
The Chargers fall to 3-4 on the year and 1-2 in the Tar Roanoke Conference. They next travel to Leggett to take on the North Edgecombe Warriors.
The Jaguars remain undefeated in conference play. Their record stands at 7-1 overall and 3-0 in Tar-Roanoke play. They will travel next week to Gaston to take on KIPP Pride.