By John Goolsby, Prep Sports Editor
JACKSONVILLE, Ala.- Moody (2-1, 1-0) opened region play Friday night on the heels of an emotional win over Oxford. However, sloppy play in the first half allowed Jacksonville to hang around before the Blue Devils pulled away in the second half for a convincing 42-21 victory.
Jake Lowery connected with Jelijah Rutledge on a touchdown pass with 8:31 left in the first quarter to put Moody on the board.
Lincoln then turned the ball over at its own 42-yard line, setting up another Blue Devils scoring drive. Josiah Dozier hauled in a 35-yard pass from Lowery, and on the next play, Le’Kamren Meadows scored on a 15-yard run to give Moody a 14-0 lead with 2:52 remaining in the first.
On the opening play of the second quarter, Rutledge muffed a punt, giving the ball back to Jacksonville. The Golden Eagles capitalized on a Moody pass interference penalty to move into the red zone, and cut the lead to 14-7 with 7:57 left in the half.
Moody drove from its 10-yard line to midfield, but the possession ended with an interception.
Jacksonville marched 66 yards on the ensuing drive — aided by a personal foul — and tied the game 14-14 with just 12 seconds left before halftime.
The Blue Devils wasted no time regaining control in the second half. Meadows scored from one yard out on the opening drive, then Jagger Ludolph pressured the Jacksonville quarterback into a throw that Kaiden Mitchell intercepted and returned for a touchdown to make it 28-14 with 7:38 left in the third quarter.
Lowery later found Rutledge for a 31-yard score with 3:44 remaining in the third, and in the fourth, he connected with Collin Eatmon on a 34-yard touchdown strike to put the game away.
After the win, Moody head coach Jake Ganus acknowledged the team’s mistakes but was encouraged by their response.
“First half was kind of worst-case scenario for us,” he said. “We only had the ball three times — score, score, score, then a penalty calls one back and we throw a pick.”
“Just self-inflicted stuff that made the game feel real sloppy,” he said. “But I think we played pretty good, especially on offense.”
“We moved the ball pretty much at will,” he said. “Defensively, we played lights out at times. It just felt like every conversion they had came off a penalty or a missed tackle — stuff we can fix. We’ve got a lot to get better at, but it’s always fun to learn from wins.”
Looking ahead, Moody will return home next week for a rivalry matchup with 5A-ranked St. Clair County.
“Always fun getting to play a border-town game,” Ganus said. “It just makes it more fun and more sweet. We’ve got a lot of respect for them, and I promise you these guys are going to be ready.”