By Josh Beavers
JONESBORO — Jonesboro Hodge beat Lakeside 14-8 Friday night in the season opener for both teams, scoring twice in the first half and holding the Warriors scoreless the rest of the way.
The Warriors could not have started better. On a wet field, Lakeside took the opening kickoff and drove the length of the field for a Malik Thorn touchdown. James Roberson picked up the two-point conversion. Lakeside led 8-0 before the Tigers ran a play.
The Warriors never scored again.
Three things decided the rest of the night. Lakeside never completed a pass. The Warriors gave away drives with penalties. And the officiating crew called pass interference against Lakeside so consistently that by the fourth quarter the secondary had stopped competing for the ball.
The Lakeside defense made it look, early on, like the lead might grow. Jonesboro Hodge fumbled on its first possession, and No. 54 Remington Arender fell on it to give Lakeside the ball right back. Penalties stalled the drive that followed, but No. 40 Levi Arender got off an excellent punt to flip the field.
Jonesboro answered at the 8:50 mark of the first quarter when the Tiger quarterback kept the ball and ran around the left side. The point-after failed. Lakeside still led 8-6.
The Tigers tried an onside kick but failed. Lakeside took over near midfield with a chance to build the lead but came away empty. That became the pattern.
Jonesboro Hodge started its next possession at its own 18. Two pass interference calls, at least one of them highly questionable, moved the Tigers all the way to the Lakeside 30 without much help from their own offense. At the 1:47 mark, quarterback Trey Bird converted a critical fourth down with his legs. On the next play he ran it in from 18 yards out for what turned out to be the winning score.
Lakeside came out of the half with its best defensive stretch of the game. Jonesboro Hodge returned the second-half kickoff to the 50, then went three plays and out.
The Warriors took over at their own 22 and finally found some room. Thorn broke a sweep to the left for a big first down. Eric Jones took another sweep the same direction into Tiger territory. Then an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty against Lakeside killed the drive and forced a punt.
Offsetting unsportsmanlike penalties on the next series gave Jonesboro Hodge the ball at its own 25, and Bird hit a pass deep into Lakeside territory. The Warriors dug in. No. 20 Stanley Owens made a pair of big tackles to set up third and long. Bird scrambled for the first down anyway. No. 52 Peyton Campbell made a big stop, Lakeside nearly picked off a second-down throw, and more penalties pushed the Tigers into third and a mile. A screen pass got about 10 yards back, leaving fourth and forever. Levi Arender came free for the sack, and the Warriors took over on downs.
Lakeside had the ball at its own 46 and a real chance to take the lead back. Jones picked up another first down, also on third and long. Then the Warriors went to a trick play, a reverse pass into the end zone thrown by Jackson Newsom. It was the right call at the right time. Jonesboro Hodge covered it perfectly and picked it off in the end zone.
The Tigers took over and started moving. Lakeside had them stopped when a pass interference flag came out on what was an obvious non-call. The referee who made the call was standing right in front of the receiver and defender. Ray Charles could see the Warrior didn’t interfere. That call, more than any other questionable one, kept the Warriors from getting the ball back with a chance to win.
Jonesboro Hodge kept the drive alive from there. Bird ran an option keeper, and the Tiger tailback picked up a first down inside of three minutes. A third-down stop set up fourth and five, and the Tigers went deep. On that throw, Lakeside defenders visibly pulled away from the receiver rather than risk another flag.
The completion put Jonesboro Hodge inside the Lakeside 5. Rather than score again from the 3, the Tigers knelt on it and let the clock run out.
Lakeside finished 0-for-2 through the air with an interception and ran for 131 yards on 26 carries. Thorn led the way with 56 yards and the touchdown on 13 attempts. Jaden Clark added 32 yards on eight carries, Jones ran four times for 31, and Levi Bogdan carried once for 12.
Owens led the defense with 11 tackles and a tackle for loss. Jones had seven tackles and a tackle for loss. Caleb Barber added seven stops.
LAKESIDE STATISTICS
Passing: Levi Bogdan 0-for-1, 0 yards. Jackson Newsom 0-for-1, 0 yards, 1 interception.
Rushing: Malik Thorn 13 carries, 56 yards, 1 touchdown. Jaden Clark 8 carries, 32 yards. Eric Jones 4 carries, 31 yards. Levi Bogdan 1 carry, 12 yards. Team totals 26 carries, 131 yards. James Roberson converted the two-point conversion.
Receiving: None.
Kicking: None.
Defense: Stanley Owens 11 tackles, 1 tackle for loss. Eric Jones 7 tackles, 1 tackle for loss. Caleb Barber 7 tackles. Nohlin Keen 4 tackles. Jace Waller 4 tackles. James Roberson 3 tackles. Noah David 3 tackles. Peyton Campbell 2 tackles. Peyton Lewis 2 tackles. Brenan Hubbard 2 tackles. J’Quon Shehee 2 tackles. Gage Williams 1 tackle. Malik Thorn 1 tackle. Levi Arender 1 tackle, 1 sack. Remington Arender 1 tackle, 1 fumble recovery.