BRANDON — It came down to one final stop.
On fourth down and 12 from the Oak Grove 38-yard line, Jenkins sacked Brandon quarterback Will Rogers and the Warriors hung on to win 36-28 over the Bulldogs in a huge Region 3-6A contest and to keep playoff hopes alive.
“I knew we had to come up big and get a big stop. I saw the back was lined up away from me, so I came off the ball fast and made a play,” Jenkins said. “Coach told us on the sideline if we can go out there and work as a unit, we can make it happen.”
Despite giving up 401 yards of offense the Warrior defense sacked Rogers six times and recovered a fumble in the first quarter.
This game was back and forth with five lead changes.
Oak Grove scored on its opening drive when quarterback Damon Stewart fumbled while stretching the ball over the goal line, but offensive lineman Klabron Pollard recovered the fumble in the end zone for a touchdown to go up 6-0 with 6:53 left in the first quarter.
Brandon would respond on a 69-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to Ashton Nickleberry to put the Bulldogs up 7-6 with 5:42 left in the opening quarter.
The Warriors regained the lead at 12-7 on Stewart one-yard run on a quarterback sneak with 1:18 left in the second quarter.
The Bulldogs would take the lead back at 14-12 on an 80-yard pass from Rogers to Joshua Montague with 1:11 left in the first quarter.
The Warriors took the lead back at 19-14 on a 17-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Jordan Coleman with 10 seconds left before halftime.
Brandon would regain the lead at 21-19 with 5:28 left in the third quarter on a 44-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to Ladarius Moore. Oak Grove regained the lead 26-21 on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Liam Breithaupt with 2:41 left in the third quarter.
The Warriors extended the lead to 33-21 on another 15-yard touchdown pass from Stewart to Tavian Smith with 10:32 left in the fourth quarter.
Smith was the Warriors top receiver with 118 yards receiving on just four catches.
Brandon cut the lead to 33-28 on an 87-yard touchdown pass from Rogers to Nickleberry with 9:40 left.
On Oak Grove’s final drive the Warriors got to the Brandon four-yard line but after Stewart was sacked Michael Owens would connect on a 34-yard field goal to extend the Warriors lead to 36-28 with 2:18 left.
On Brandon’s final drive the Bulldogs got to the Oak Grove 28-yard line, but a holding penalty took away a touchdown run and then a false start penalty put the Bulldogs behind the chains and a dropped pass in the endzone on the third down and then Jenkins’ sack on fourth ended it.
Nick Milsap had 135 yards rushing on 33 carries for the Warrior ground game.
“Our guys played their hearts and I am extremely proud of them,” said Oak Grove coach Drew Causey. “Our defense did what we asked them to do and that’s put their hand in the ground and keep hitting them and they did it and I’m proud of them. Damon played unbelievable and played like we’ve expected him to all season and he’s starting to hit his stride. Great win on the road, but we got to get back and get ready for Pearl.”
Stewart finished the night 16-of-21 for 279 yards with three touchdowns and also had 48 yards rushing with a touchdown.
“It was a really good game with receivers making plays and defense making plays all night and just a whole team effort all around,” Stewart said. “I don’t think anybody can guard our receivers and I just put the ball up and they go and make plays. The defense fought through adversity and stepped up when we needed them too.”
Rogers, a Mississippi State commit, had 428 yards passing with four touchdowns.
“Two good football teams and it came down to plays at the end and they made plays and we missed opportunities,” said Brandon coach Tyler Peterson. “We gave up too many big plays in the end and they are a playoff team.”
With the Oak Grove win, Pearl win over Northwest Rankin, and George County win over Terry it is now a five-way tie with Brandon, Oak Grove, Pearl, Northwest Rankin, and George County all at 3-2 in district play.
Brandon (6-3) travels to Northwest Rankin next week, while Oak Grove (6-3) travels to Pearl.
