Jags fumble comeback to fall to 1-1

Last Friday, the Winder-Barrow Bulldoggs came into Waters-Wilkins Stadium to beat the Cedar Shoals Jaguars 14-7 in a non-region matchup.

“They played hard all four quarters which is a good thing. We’re playing hard right now, and we’ll be fine. We just have to make some adjustments,” said Head Coach Leroy Ryals.

Despite being on the losing side, senior quarterback Kiyonnice Smith threw for 179 yards and one touchdown on 14-24 attempts. This performance was an improvement from the previous week against Madison County where Smith only attempted six passes with two completions for 37 yards and two interceptions.

“It took me a little bit to get into my passing game and get more completions. I feel like I let my team down in my late startup,” said Smith

Part of the struggle leading up to the loss was the running game. The Bulldoggs defense held Cedar to only 12 rushing yards on 30 carries. This performance was a massive step backwards from the Madison County game where Cedar rushed for 217 yards and two touchdowns.

“Some of the credit goes to Winder-Barrow, they had a pretty good defense, their front four. They made us throw it a little more than we wanted to, but that’s the way it works,” said Ryals.

The Winder-Barrow defense put pressure on Smith all night, but Smith’s experience in the pocket kept several Jaguar drives alive. Winder-Barrow failed to record a sack on Smith who danced his way around a collapsed pocket throughout the game.  

Going into half with 55 passing yards coming out at half time hoping to change that, Smith lead the Jaguars back with an 144 yard performance in the second half.

This Friday, Cedar Shoals will travel to Evans, GA to play the (0-1) Greenbrier High School Wolfpack in their third non-region matchup of the year. Greenbrier lost to Statesboro 7-3 last week.

Final: Winder-Barrow 14 Cedar Shoals 7

Quarterback stats

Kiyonnice Smith: 14-24 179 yards 1 TD pass (100+ passing yards in the 2nd Half)

Jhaydon Sullivan: 8-17 120 yards 2 TD pass 1 int

Rushing

Cedar: 12 yards on 30 carries

Winder-Barrow: 141 yards on 36 carries

Leading Rushers

Cedar: Osiris Walker- 7 carries, 18 yards

Winder: Jamar Mack- 17 carries, 62 yards

Receiving

Cedar: 15 Catches, 186 yards, 1 TD

Winder: 8 Catches, 120 yards, 2 TD

Receiving Leaders

Cedar: Devontaye Bankston, 4 catches, 80 yards; Cameron Hudson, 13-yard TD catch

Winder: Zachary Butler, 1 catch, 42 yards; Brett Landis 3 catches, 30 yards, 2 TD’s