Blue Devils Take Care Of Business In Heavy Rain
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The post-game celebration was short-lived Friday night after the Blue Devils defeated J.Z. George for their second straight win on the road. The rain came down hard during the entire game and the players headed to the locker room to get dry after a brief post-game huddle.
NORTH CARROLLTON – On a wet and rainy Friday, September 27, the Blue Devils traveled to North Carrollton, looking to extend their winning streak against the home standing J.Z. George Jaguars. The Blue Devils struck first and often as the varsity put up 42 straight points and shut the Jaguars out, before subbing out and ending the game 42 to 6 to improve to (2-3) on the 2024 Season.
The Blue Devils took the opening kickoff and methodically marched down the field until sophomore running back Miles Buford took it in for the four-yard rushing score. Gabe Butler added the Point After Kick (PAT) from the snap of Alex Spruill and hold of Tyler Richardson.
The Blue Devils did not waste much time as defensive back Kemauri Page recovered a Jaguar fumble on the kickoff unit. Buford again for paydirt with a two-yard rush. The Devils were denied on the Two-Point Conversion attempt as they fumbled out of the Swinging Gate Formation.
Channing Freeman sticks close to a receiver during a pass play Friday night.
On the ensuing possession, Donalvin Wilson recovered another Jaguar fumble and the Blue Devils marched it down, but were turned away on downs by the Jaguar defense in the red zone.
The second quarter was the Zae Bradford show as he had three rushing touchdowns in the quarter. Bradford was set up twice with a short field by a Derion Gale fumble recovery and an Ezaryon Riley fumble recovery.
Butler would add a two-point conversion rush and another PAT kick in the quarter. Bradford had his second-consecutive 100-yard rushing game as he finished with 165 yards on 15 carries. Buford added 84 yards on 16 carries.
The Jaguars had a hard time holding onto the ball as pressure was applied by the self-proclaimed “Wrecking Crew” defense all night long.
Defensively, the Blue Devils were paced by Wilson with 10 total tackles and two sacks. Dez Campbell added nine tackles, Buford added eight, and Parker Turnage added seven on the evening. The score was 35 to 0 at the half, which initiated the MHSAA mandated running clock for the second half.
The Blue Devils would add one more Bradford rushing touchdown in the third quarter and the varsity shut out the Jaguars before playing many backups in the final frame. The backups showed heart and spunk holding the Jaguars out of the end zone until the very last play of the game as their quarterback rushed around right tackle for a four-yard rushing score. He was sacked on the last play of the game as the clock expired.
Head Coach Clint Faust spoke briefly to the team in the post-game huddle.
“I am not going to keep you long in the rain, I just want to brag on you for coming out and doing what needed to be done,” Faust told his squad. “You took care of the ball, you rushed for over 250 yards, you put up 42 points, you shut them out on varsity, and we got some quality reps for some backups. I want to challenge you to remain focused on the task at hand as we can make history next week by being the first Blue Devil Team to ever defeat a 6A opponent.”
The Blue Devils will celebrate homecoming festivities prior to the 7 p.m. Kickoff against the 6A Saltillo Tigers on Friday, October 4, at Bobby Clark Field. The Devils will look to extend their winning streak to three.
