Zion Ragins and Jones County roll past Northside 27-21 in Saturday afternoon matchup

In one of the first big matchups in the Middle Georgia high school football season, Jones County took down Northside 27-21 in the first game of the Macon Touchdown Club Kickoff Classic.

Greyhounds coach Mike Chastain said it was as good of an opening game as you can ask for.

“You can’t ask for a better atmosphere,” he said. “I’m proud of my guys for winning the ballgame.”

The Jones County offense scorched the Northside defense throughout the contest, with star receiver Zion Ragins and all-around talent Javious Bond guiding the team to the win.

Ragins had 15 touches for 114 total yards and two touchdowns and would’ve had even more yardage if not for a 73-yard touchdown run called back because of a holding penalty. Bond was all over the field, recovering a fumble and snagging an interception on defense while scoring a touchdown on offense.

“It’s awesome that they can come up with big moments, they’re electric,” Chastain said of Ragins and Bond. “You gotta give some credit to that big five up front too, man, they played great.”

Quarterback Judd Anderson had a strong game to round out the attack for the Hounds, going 15 of 25 for 222 yards with three touchdowns and one interception.

Northside was able to stay in the game thanks to their long offensive drives and a grinding running game, but couldn’t keep pace in the second half. The Greyhounds had a particularly strong second half after going into the break down 15-14, bouncing back on offense and keeping the Eagles from scoring.

“I’m just proud of our guys heart and fight in the second half,” Chastain said. “We had some issues to work through in the first half, which is natural early in the year in the first game, and a big game. But our guys responded after the half and that’s what I’m so proud of.”

The second game scheduled for the kickoff classic, Mary Persons vs. Northeast, was ultimately postponed due to repeated lightning and rain delays.

A back-and-forth game

The Greyhounds capitalized on an early fumble from Northside quarterback Damien Dee, taking only four plays to reach the endzone. A 21-yard pass from Anderson to Bond gave Jones County a 7-0 lead.

The Eagles capitalized on a short field, taking eight plays to go 22 yards, capped off with a Michael McClendon two-yard touchdown run. Instead of an extra point try, Northside used a trick formation and a snap to the quarterback to strike for a conversion to take an 8-7 lead.

The teams traded interceptions before the Greyhounds blasted down the field thanks to two big runs from Ragins and Bond. Anderson sealed the deal with a third huge play, throwing a 40-yard touchdown to Tyler Stewart to retake the lead 14-8.

After a series of small chunk runs on their next possession, a big jet sweep run from Duke McClinton put the Eagles inside the 1 yardline. A QB sneak from Dee took the lead by a point, 15-14.

The Greyhounds opened heavy on the run to start the half and were vaulted to their own 45 yardline thanks to a penalty on Northside. Anderson scrambled with the ball on the next two plays to move Jones County into Eagles territory, which set up a lightning strike from Ragins.

Ragins caught the screen pass behind the line of scrimmage, then made two men miss and blazed into the endzone to give the Hounds the lead, 21-15. The speedy wideout scored again a few drives later, zig-zagging his way to paydirt on a handoff from the 4-yardline to make it a two-score game. After a timeout and unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt, the Greyhounds led 27-15 with about eight minutes to play.

A surprise onside kick try from Jones County didn’t pan out and gave Northside great field position as they tried to stay in the game. The drive progressed with some quarterback scrambles but eventually came down to a crucial 4th and 2, where Dee squirmed out of the pocket and threw a tight pass over the middle to JC Coney to convert in the clutch.

Three dead plays led to another fourth down for Northside with the game on the line, this one from the 7. Another clutch off-balance throw from Dee found the endzone for the Eagles, this time to McClendon. The snap was wild on the PAT, making it 27-21 with around four minutes to play, and Jones County ran out the clock to end the game.

This story was originally published August 20, 2022 at 7:48 PM.