Sylva-Bay traveled up highway 15 a day earlier than expected to face an old rival, Newton County Academy. Normally, this game produces some major fireworks, but the Saints jumped on the Generals and never let off the gas. Freshman quarterback Jacob Bowen struck pay dirt first with a six-yard touchdown rumble early in the first.
Then the Bowens-Jones show took center stage.
Junior turnover artist, Jayvion Jones, mistimed a Newton bomb forty yards down the field. Not only did he hawk the receiver from behind, but he also stripped the ball and recovered the fumble for the Saints. That set up a Bowen pass to Jones for a 17-yard score with 46 seconds left in the first. Bowen and Jones would connect again before the half for a 59-yard touchdown late in the second quarter.
Sylva-Bay took a 28-0 lead into halftime. They would score only one more time on a goal-line quarterback sneak by Paxton Brewer. Note that Raymond Morales was perfect again hitting five PAT’s.
With a 35-0 lead, the young backups came into finish the game 35-10.
“We got up in the first half, and that allowed us to get some younger guys in. That’s great for them, and they deserve it. They do all the hard work that everyone else does. Holding a dummy or showing the looks of the other team is a thankless job sometimes. It was good to get them in and see our starters encouraging those guys,” said head coach Terry Underwood.
With another district win, Sylva-Bay is knocking on the door of a district championship three-peat. Underwood noted that this championship beneficial to the life of the season, “Feels great! We are kinda turning the corner that started with the North Delta game even though we lost it. I think it gave us some confidence and identity in some of the things we can do. We had a big win last week, and this was another big win tonight. It sets us up for a chance to win the district again for the third year in a row. That’s huge because it gives us a first-round bye if we can make that happen.”
Though the Saints seem to be turning the corner, they will face a bigger school next Friday from Bowling Green, Louisiana.
Last year, Bowling Green had to forfeit games for playing ineligible players and took their anger out on Sylva-Bay 48-14 once those ineligible players returned. You could sense that Underwood would love to repay the message in his voice, “Bowling Green is a really solid football team. Last year they were a great team. We look forward to this game. It’s Homecoming. There are a lot of reasons we should be ready for this one.”
Homecoming activities are expected to begin at 6 pm Friday.
