J.Z. George didn’t get to play its rival Winona High School on Friday night due to a shooting in Winona earlier in the day.
The Carroll County Sheriff’s Department and Joey Carpenter, superintendent of the Carroll County School District, conferred and decided to cancel the game for safety reasons.
“The shooting had a lot to do with the cancelation,” said Nathan Moncrief, J.Z. George’s principal. “Just being concerned about safety.
“I was notified close to 2:30 p.m. about what was going on in Winona. I talked to our superintendent, and he gave me full details on what he was told by law enforcement.”
J.Z. George and Winona were coming into Friday night both holding an overall record of 2-0. George started off its season with a 12-0 road win over Alcorn Central High School, then beat Coffeeville 30-8 at home the following week.
Friday night’s matchup would’ve been the latest game in the two rival schools’ long history of facing each other on the football field. They first met in 1941, resulting in a 12-0 loss for J.Z. George, and the rivals have met 21 other times since.
Winona holds 19 wins over J.Z. George, which has beaten Winona just three times. The Jaguars’ most recent win came in 2014 with a 21-14 victory at Winona. The Tigers have won every matchup since, currently holding a six-game win streak over the Jaguars.
With Friday’s game being canceled, Rusty Smith, J.Z. George’s head coach, and his squad didn’t get to take a shot at ending that losing streak.
Due to the situation regarding the game’s cancelation, Smith said he and his team were saddened by the news, but could understand the reasoning behind the decision.
“Some kids were upset. They were looking forward to the big rivalry,” Smith said. “They worked hard and got ready all week, but I think they understand it.”
The Jaguars’ shot at ending their losing streak to Winona will have to wait another year, according to Smith.
“From what I’m hearing we won’t reschedule, we’ll just move on,” Smith said.
J.Z. George will travel to Holly Springs next week. Kickoff is at 7:30 p.m.
-Contact Jared Conerly at 662-581-7237 or jconerly@gw-commonwealth.com.
