Maynard Jackson coach Eric Williams earned career win No. 100 last week when his Jaguars defeated Forest Park 43-0 on Friday. The victory meant a lot to Williams, the second-longest tenured head football coach in the Atlanta Public School system, and a proud graduate of Washington High School.
“It means everything,” Williams said. “To build the program up and stay the course. We take great pride in doing in the right way and building a community-based program.”
Jackson is off to a 6-1 start – matching the school’s best start from 1993 --and are 3-1 in Region 5 competition. The Jags will play a makeup game with Midtown on Wednesday and close the season with Creekside and Pace Academy.
Williams has spent his entire career as a head coach at Mays, which was known as Southside until 2007. This is his 21st season and he has taken the school to the state playoffs in nine of the last 10 seasons. Their best season was in 2017 when they went 9-3 and reached the second round of the playoffs.
“Our goal every year is to make the playoffs,” Wiliams said. “We challenge our kids to keep the streak alive.”
This year’s Jackson team is very young but has a handful of experienced players with Power Five potential, including wide receiver/free safety Ricky Dorn III (6-3, 200) and defensive end Zion Lawson (6-3, 230), a pair of seniors. Lawson recently decommitted from Vanderbilt.
Quarterback Rayshawn Parker (6-0, 185), a junior who is equally effective as a passer and runner, is the steady influence on the field. Sophomore Jacob Jackson (5-10, 195) may be the team’s best all-around player and plays running back and outside linebacker.
Ware County scores important win
The Ware County Gators toss the Region 1 race into further disarray by beating Benedictine 38-14 in Savannah. The game was originally scheduled to be played in Waycross, but had to be moved because of Hurricane Helene.
Perry (5-2, 2-0) has the region lead, with Ware County (3-3, 1-0), Warner Robins (5-2, 1-1) and Benedictine (4-4, 1-1) following. Perry, which hosts Ware County on Friday.
“I’m just so impressed by the resilience our guys have shown,” Ware County Coach Jason Strickland told the Savannah Morning News. “When the hurricane hit two weeks ago, we didn’t even know where half the guys on our team were for a couple days. We just got power back at school this week and we’ve had to move games around and try to get some practices in. I think the guys were just excited to get a chance to get out there and play, and we got our mojo back tonight.
Jamir Boyd ran 26 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns and Tyshawun Franklin carried 10 times for 68 yards and three touchdowns.
The loss was costly for Benedictine. Quarterback Stephen Cannon sprained his AC joint on the first play of the second half and may be out for the season. Running back Stanley Smart had 73 yards rushing but was injured and did not play the second half.
Top performers: Noah Gerrick had eight solo tackles, five assists, blocked a field goal and scored on a 26-yard run to help No. 1 Marist beat St. Pius 24-0. … Ware County’s Jamir Boyd ran 26 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-14 win over Benedictine. … Tae Harris ran six times for 126 yards and had a 61-yard reception in Cedartown’s 44-13 win over Dalton. … Harrison Faulkner completed 16 of 26 passes for 326 yards and five touchdowns in a 40-35 win over Eastside. …. Jayden Barr ran for 134 yards and scored five touchdowns in Eastside’s 40-35 loss to North Oconee. … Nate Russell threw for 208 yards and two touchdowns in Cartersville’s 31-0 win over Allatoona. … Lincoln Delaere of Starr’s Mill had five catches for 124 yards and ran for 53 yards in a 28-7 win over Harris County.
Cambridge receiver Craig Dandridge caught seven passes for 221 yards and three touchdowns and returned an interception for a 90-yard touchdown in a 46-39 win over Centennial. … Titus D’Arcangelo had five solo tackles, five assists, recovered a fumble and had a pick-six in a 34-15 win over Walnut Grove. … Linebacker Brayden Rouse had 17 tackles, broke up a pass and caught two touchdown passes in a 16-14 loss to Westminster. … Mays’ Cam Barber had 11 tackles, two interceptions and four breakups in a 20-15 win over King. … Macklin Sanders of Ola had eight solo tackles, four assists and intercepted two passes, returning one for a touchdown, in a 45-6 win over Woodland. … Gavin Jeffries of Pace Academy had seven tackles, five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks in a 30-14 win over Midtown. … Southwest DeKalb quarterback Braylon Carter completed 29 of 38 passes for three touchdowns in a 38-29 win over Tucker. …Westminster’s Vikas Reddy kicked three field goals, 41, 29 and 36 yards, in a 16-14 win over Kell.
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