Banks County High School stayed perfect on the gridiron with a win over Franklin County High School, 34-16, Friday night in Homer.
The contest was the Leopards’ first at home this season and the home crowd had a lot to cheer about as their squad improved to 3-0.
Running back Aucy Jacobs carried the load for the Leopards as he outscored the Lions (1-2) himself.
The junior carried the rock 16 times for 194 yards and three touchdowns.
“I just did what’s best for my team and we got there,” Jacobs said. “We came out with a win and that’s all that matters to me.”
Senior Aaron Scott tacked on the only other offensive touchdown, capping a three-play 23-yard drive.
Scott set up the drive with the second of his two interceptions of the night and was rewarded with the final touchdown of the night for the Leopards.
Head coach Jay Reid called out his offensive linemen – Brett Griffin, Mason Dodd, Andrew Humphries, Ashton Camp and King Johns – as well as his two fullbacks, Cam Cooper and Jonathan Faulkner, by name when talking about their great blocking performance.
“They were blocking their butts off,” Jacobs said. “At first, stuff was kind of rough. Then, I was like ‘Come on. We’ve got to get going because we shouldn’t even be on the field with (Franklin County). We should be waxing them.’”
Scott, the senior defensive back-slash-running back-slash-wide receiver also returns kick offs for Banks County and he showed why on Friday with an 81-yard sprint to the endzone.
The play happened after Franklin County scored its first touchdown, a 1-yard run by quarterback Nava Ware, with 10:05 remaining in the second quarter.
Thirteen seconds of game time later, Scott was celebrating with his teammates in the endzone. That score put his team back on top 14-7.
Jacobs scored the first touchdown of the game, a 23-yard run, as the horn sounded for the end of the first quarter.
With 1:50 left in the first half, Eli Cooling knocked through a 33-yard field goal for the Lions to make the score 14-10. That score would last through the halftime break.
Then, in the second half, Banks County rattled off 20 unanswered points.
With 7:34 left in the third quarter, the Leopards got tricky and tossed the ball to Jacobs on a fake field goal for a 6-yard score. The play capped an eight-play, 55-yard drive.
There were seven unsportsmanlike conduct or personal foul penalties called between the two teams and over 175 yards of total penalties called in the contest.
There was so much going on between the two teams the officials had both head coaches on the field with their teams to calm things down in the third quarter.
“We’ve got to do a better job of dealing with frustrations and dealing with talking on the field and talking with officials,” Reid said. “I feel like the officials did a good job of handling it. But you have to play on an edge, man. It’s hard.”
Reid said his players are learning how to play on that edge “without stepping over.”
“Right now we’re kind of playing on the edge and stepping over a little bit,” he said. “We’ve got to be able to play on that edge, but not lose our composure. If you can get to where you can play on that edge and keep your cool and focus and think at the same time and not miss a line and not make mental errors, that’s what you’ve got to be able to do.”
A few plays after the on-field meeting, Scott snagged his first interception just 14 seconds into the fourth quarter.
The first play of the Leopards’ possession, Jacobs slipped through for an 82-yard dash to the endzone.
The next drive for the Lions lasted three plays, with the third resulting in the second interception for Scott.
The two teams finished the game with similar numbers in total offense, with Banks County outpacing the Lions through the air.
Franklin County finished the contest with 222 rushing yards. Running back Brady Simms totaled 200 of those yards.
Despite the effort from Simms, it was Ware and Carson Cheek who had the two scores for the Lions. Both of those came on the ground with Cheek’s coming on an 8-yard run with 5:07 left in the game.
The Leopards will return home next week to play George Walton Academy for homecoming. Reid says he has no idea what to expect from his competition in the contest.
“I don’t know anything about them. I haven’t seen them on film, haven’t really kept track of them,” Reid said. “I keep a one-game focus. I try not to look ahead … very little, if at all.”
Banks County will turn their focus to George Walton next week. For now, the team will take solace in their win and their luck in staying healthy.
“We’ll enjoy the hell out of it, to be honest,” Reid said. “Our guys going through that fire, we’re trying to do a better job and right now we’re staying healthier and that’s big.”
