NORTH CARROLLTON - Underdog J.Z. George got the quick start it needed against top-ranked West Bolivar, but that wasn't enough as the Eagles sailed to a 40-6 victory here Friday night in the second round of the North 2A playoffs.
George ends its season at 8-4, while West Bolivar, the No. 1 team in Class 2A, improves to 12-0 heading into a third-round matchup against South Delta, which beat Bruce 22-14 Friday night.
Senior Kevin Washington returned the opening kickoff of the game 90 yards for a touchdown to give a George a 6-0 lead just 16 seconds into the game.
The Jaguars held the explosive Eagle offense to three downs and punt on the ensuing possession and looked have all the momentum on their side. But that changed when Emmanuel Ford came up with the first of his two interceptions.
The Eagles then went 52 yards in seven plays as quarterback Keondrick Brown capped the drive with a 2-yard run. He then hit Daniel Lee for the two-point pass, putting the visitors from Rosedale up 8-6 with 5:35 left in the first quarter.
“George came out strong on us a with a big, big play, but responded like we normally do,” West Bolivar coach Henry Johnson said. “George has a good team, but we were able to control things the rest of the way.”
West Bolivar needed just two plays to cover a 41-yard touchdown drive on its next possession. Senior tailback Tony Lewis scored from 30 yards out. Quantarus Banks added the two-point run.
West Bolivar went up 24-6 with a 1:10 left in the first half on 7-yard TD pass from Brown to Banks. Brown added the two-point run.
George had a chance to cut into the lead in the final minute of the half, but George quarterback Ezell Jones was picked off at the Eagle 9 by Ford.
After a scoreless third quarter, George again had a chance to make a game of it, but Jones was intercepted in the end zone by Billy Edwards.
West Bolivar pushed its lead to 32-6 midway through the fourth quarter on a 2-yard sneak by Brown.
The Eagle defense posted a shutout and got a touchdown as West Bolivar's final score came on a 31-yard fumble return by Jeremy Smith.
“Anytime you don't give a point and you score a touchdown, you know the defensive effort was tremendous,” Johnson said. “We had a good defensive game plan, and the kids did a good job of executing it.”
West Bolivar will host South Delta this Friday. The Eagles' closest game this season came in a 20-14 victory over South Delta.
during the fourth game of the season.
