Two early Northeast Jones turnovers made the beginning of last Friday night seem like another disappointing week of football in “The Jungle.”
Then things got better from there.
Three first-half touchdowns, include two TD passes from quarterback Javier “Fafa” Magee to receiver Jay Jones, helped Northeast Jones knock-off Bay Springs 27-21 and earned the Tigers their first ‘W’ of the season.
“It was a good hard physical football game,” said NEJ head coach Keith Braddock. “We won the first half obviously and was able to hold on during the second half. Our kids played hard. They’ve been working hard and buying in despite all the negative things, like injuries, which have happened. And that is a credit to them.”
Magee finished the game with 205 yards passing on nine completions and two touchdowns. He ran for another 64 yards on 12 carries. Magee’s primary target was Jones who racked up 132 receiving yards on four catches, which included a 48 and 74 yard TD catch.
Performances from both Magee and Jones are worthy of this week’s Sports601 Jones County Co-Players of the Week.
“It was a hard night based on the way their [Bay Springs) defense was set up,” said Magee. “But coach prepared us in practice and gave us good plays to run. We broke up their defense, and things happened.”
Jones was happy to get the win.
“It felt great and amazing,” said the junior wide receiver. “We practice hard every day, and I felt like we deserved that win.”
Magee, Jones and the Tigers have the week off. Northeast Jones opens Region 5-4A next week on the road with Northeast Lauderdale. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.
