Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
The Jefferson Davis Academy Raiders traveled to Bluffton on Friday, August 23 to face the Cross Stingrays in their Region II opener. The journey to Bluffton apparently had no effect on the Raiders as they sailed to an easy 54-0 thrashing of the Stingrays.
If you were trying to keep score and keep track of who scored for the JDA Raiders, then you were up for a big challenge. Before Cross knew what hit them, JDA had taken a 38-0 lead and it was still in the first quarter. This game was over early, but it did allow the teams to play everyone and give some that don’t always get much time on the field, the opportunity to gain some valuable experience.
Raiders head coach Anthony Reitenour was asked about his team’s one-sided victory and said, “Friday was a good bounce back win for us. We had to kind of abandon ship pretty early with our starters as we jumped out to a 38-0 lead with over five minutes left in the first quarter. Most of the first string were spectators for the final three quarters.”
Coach Reitenour said “it was a good night for some of our younger guys to get a lot of repetitions and some good field experience to carry us on to a final of 54-0. Colson Loadholt had a big night in a hurry with four carries for 42 yards a touchdown. He also added a 2-point conversion. In addition to his ground game, he also completed a pass for 46 yards and a touchdown. Defensively, he had seven tackles and an interception that he returned 34 yards for another touchdown. Nas Void and James Grubbs each had only one carry apiece on the night and, ironically, both carries went 46 yards for a touchdown. Grubbs also was the recipient of Colson's 46-yard touchdown pass. Tanner Williams led the way defensively with 12 tackles and Riley Todd had an interception and a 70-yard kickoff return for a touchdown. Dalton Nix had three carries for 36 yards and a touchdown and was 1 for 2 passing. Nix connected with Landon Williams for a 23-yard touchdown pass.”
The JDA cheerleaders, parents, and fans had a lot of offense to cheer about Friday night, but as impressive as scoring the 54 points was, the defense may have played even better. The Raiders defense did not allow a single point to be scored. In 8-man football that is a rarity. Even when the backups were in the game, they played with pride and wanted to keep that big “0” on the visitors’ side of the scoreboard.
“Even with the big win Friday night, we are still back hard at work today to keep improving on the season to prepare to hit the road again Friday in Georgia,” said Coach Reitenour.
JDA will travel to Hephzibah, Georgia this Friday, August 30 to face the Georgia School for Innovation & Classics. For those planning on making the trip to support the Raiders, this is a 4:30 p.m. start time. Come on out for a little road trip and cross the border to cheer on your Raiders football team. They would love to have your spirit there to help guide them to another JDA win!
