Glen Allen vs. Freeman (Video Still: Byron Jones/recruit804)
Glen Allen pushes past Douglas Freeman
by Byron Jones, recruit804
Glen Allen and Douglas Freeman kicked off the season Monday evening and both picked up convincing wins over their opponents. The Jaguars hosted J.R. Tucker and defeated the Tigers 25-7. With the win, Glen Allen Head Coach Perry Jones picked up his second straight victory over his friend and former teammate at Oscar Smith and UVA, J.R. Tucker Head Coach Phillip Sims. The Mavericks blanked their rival Mills Godwin 48-0 to set up Saturday’s matchup between the undefeated schools. The Mavericks led 7-0 early on, but Glen Allen would score 17 unanswered points to pick up the victory and move to 2-0 on the year.
Freeman turned the ball over on downs on their first possession, but Charlie Martin picked off Glen Allen QB Jordan Greenhow (Virginia Tech PWO commit) to give them the ball right back. A few plays later, Freeman QB and Washington and Lee commit, Andrew Bland, scored on a 7-yard touchdown run (PAT-Lombardi).
Midway through the second period, Greenhow was intercepted by Bradley Perkins, but the Mavericks were forced to punt on their ensuing drive. Greenhow redeemed himself on the following drive when he scored from 4-yards out (PAT-Vantre) to knot the game at seven with 51.3 seconds remaining before halftime.
Freeman forced a Glen Allen punt to open up the second half. Quarterback Andrew Bland hit Seamus Moore on a 40-yard strike to give the Mavericks excellent field position early in the third period. However, Bland and company could not finish the drive and turned the ball over on downs. This would be a reoccurring theme for the Maverick offense the remainder of the day.
Glen Allen would cash in on the following drive when Dominic Dutton raced 35-yards to the endzone (PAT-Vantre) to put the Jags on top 14-7 with 3:38 remaining in the third. The Mavericks defense forced its third turnover of the day early in the fourth quarter when Eddie Allen delivered a big hit on Greenhow to force a fumble (recovery-Estrada).
Freeman had a lot of clock left and momentum was on their side, but the Jaguar defense dug deep and forced them into a three and out. After a short punt by Freeman, Glen Allen kicker Steele Vantre, put the game on ice when he booted a 40-yard field goal with 1:44 remaining in the contest.
When asked about his team’s performance after the game, Glen Allen Head Coach Perry Jones stated, “We knew when we came into this game it would be a tough matchup. Ever since I’ve been here it’s been a neck and neck game.” He continued, “The guys had a short memory, they made a mistake and they forgot about it and went on to the next play. We got down early but we kept fighting and came back and got the victory.”
After the loss, Douglas Freeman Head Coach George Bland stated, “I really like our defense. We’re very young but we’ve got a lot of really good athletes and they get after it. Offensively, I think it caught us off guard just a bit upfront. We are very young upfront, and we have a lot of new starters. Glen Allen was very physical and got downhill. We didn’t respond as well as we could to that. You got to tip the cap. They played well and came out and beat us.”
NEXT UP
Glen Allen (2-0) returns to action next Friday on the road against Hermitage (1-0). The Panthers shut out Varina in their opener and will be well-rested for their matchup against the Jaguars. Glen Allen turned the ball over three times against Freeman and that is something they will need to get under control before their contest against Hermitage.
When asked how he and his teammates would prepare for next week’s game, quarterback Jordan Greenhow stated, “We’ve got to be physical and we’ve got to be mentally strong. It’s a tough team over there at Hermitage. (Our) defense has to step up again and offense has to be better and put more points on the board to beat them.”
Douglas Freeman (1-1) will also hit the road next Friday to square off against Bo Kite and the Deep Run Wildcats (1-0). The Wildcats limped to a 7-0 victory over Tucker on Saturday.
– Byron Jones
