Class 6A No. 3 Theodore stays unbeaten, shuts down Blount
Brayden Jenkins and Demon Jones had touchdown runs and Vandy commit Kam Johnson caught two touchdown passes, while Theodore’s defense stopped Blount’s running game as the Class 6A No. 3 Bobcats rolled to a 35-0 win in Class 6A, Region 1 action at Harris-Terry Stadium on Friday night.
Theodore improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in region play, while Blount dropped its third straight game and fell to 2-5 overall and 2-3 in the region.
The Bobcat defense was especially tough, holding Blount to 68 yards rushing and five total first downs.
“I thought we played well,” said Theodore head coach Eric Collier. “I thought we executed, but we squandered a couple of tries in the first half. We were trying to work on a few things ourselves; so overall I think we played pretty well and our kids executed.
“Our defensive coaching staff has done a pretty good job, and I’ll tell you something else — we’ve got about five or six guys who have been three-year starters and we’re able to do a lot of things and they’ve been with us for so long. They understand what we’re trying to do.”
Theodore led only 7-0 in the first quarter after Jenkins’ 7-yard touchdown run, but the Bobcats managed to get some breathing room in the second when Jones scored on a 5-yard touchdown run with 9:25 left. Then, Theodore went to the air with less than three minutes left in the half when Cameron Rigby found Kam Johnson on a 22-yard touchdown reception.
Johnson practically put the game out of reach with a 49-yard touchdown grab on the first play of the third quarter, and the Bobcats capped off their scoring when backup running back Braxton Clark scored on a 30-yard scamper with 7:10 left in the game.
Stars of the game: Jenkins and Johnson get equal billing offensively, but give props to the Theodore defense for preventing Blount from getting anything going offensively for most of the game.
Play of the game: By far it was Johnson’s 49-yard touchdown reception. He shed a couple of tackles en route to the end zone and increased Theodore’s cushion in the process.
Key sequence: The event leading to Johnson’s long touchdown came on the second-half kickoff. It was relatively short and returned to the Blount 49, putting the Bobcats in position for the score.
By the numbers: 1, number of first downs Blount had in the first half; 7, number of first downs Blount had for the entire game; 7, number of Theodore players who had at least one carry; 19, number of first downs Theodore had in the game; 33 yards, longest offensive play for Blount; 160, total offensive yardage for Blount; 306, total offensive yardage for Theodore.
Key stats: For Theodore, Rigby completed 10-of-19 passes for 145 yards and two touchdowns, Jenkins had 8 carries for 65 yards while Jones added 25 yards on four carries. For Blount, Antonio Robinson-Jackson completed 10-of-15 passes for 92 yards and rushed 10 times for 49 yards.
Coachspeak: “Blount’s got a good football team, and they’ve been through some adversity, but you can tell they’re hanging in there as a team and the coach is doing a good job with them. But more than anything, I’m glad to come out with a win and come out with a shutout. Our defense played well all night long and I’m proud of those guys.” — Collier
They said it: “Everything we saw on film (about Theodore’s defense) they did, but we’ve got to do a better job up front. Right now, we’re struggling offensive line wise. We started four freshmen tonight, so we’ve just got to be ready, just got to be stronger, and just got to execute.” — Blount head coach Josh Harris.
Up next: Theodore travels to play McGill-Toolen, while Blount travels to play St. Paul’s.