Hearst-led Josey edges Cross Creek 16-14 in Richmond County rivalry battle
By William Reyes | Sports writer
Josey High School, behind Zavion Hearst, rallied to beat rival Cross Creek 16-14 on Friday night, Sept. 11, in a prep football game delayed in the first half for 30 minutes by lightning.
In the battle of teams who entered Friday’s contest without a win, the Eagles were able to notch their first victory of the season on their home field in the rain as Hearst made big plays throughout the game.
However, Cross Creek dominated much of the first half before the Eagles evened matters right before halftime.
The Razorbacks (0-4) started off the game from their own 40-yard line, and moved downfield quickly. Thanks to three encroachment penalties against the Eagles, Cross Creek moved inside the Josey 10-yard line, but unfortunately for the Razorbacks the ball was fumbled there and recovered by Hearst, the Eagle cornerback .
So Josey’s opening drive began at its own 3-yard line. Although the fumble seemed like good news for the home team, that quickly changed after the snap was fumbled on second down. Hearst was once again able to recover the ball, but was quickly tackled in his own end zone for a safety. The Razorbacks found themselves up 2-0 with seven minutes left in the first quarter.
On the visitors’ ensuing drive, they were forced into a third-and-17 situation after a false start set them back. Josey shut down any hopes of a first down after defensive tackle Timothy Hope Jr. made a tackle for a loss. Cross Creek was forced to punt to Josey.
The Razorbacks, though, wasted no time getting the ball back after Josey fumbled, and defensive back Jakari Jorden recovered the mishandled snap.
On the Razorbacks’ ensuing drive, Josey (1-2) managed to force back-to-back pass break-ups on third and fourth down by Jaden Hosey and Santorrez Coleman, respectively.
Cross Creek seemed to start off the second quarter strong. After recovering a mishandled Eagles’ snap, the Razorbacks took over at the 40-yard line.
After this play, the game was delayed 30 minutes due to lightning.
The delay seemed to ignite something in Cross Creek, as Razorbacks’ quarterback Teon Robinson Jr. hit wide receiver Amaud Atkins in the flat. Atkins then ran 20 yards into the end zone for the first touchdown of the game. After a failed two-point conversion, the visitors were up 8-0.
On the ensuing drive, Cross Creek cornerback Jeremiah Winters intercepted an Eagles’ pass, setting up the Razorbacks at their own 21-yard line.
The visitors could not capitalize on the turnover, and following the punt, Josey was in good field position at the Cross Creek 40-yard line.
Josey was able to drive down to the 3-yard line, and despite some questionable clock management, the Eagles got their first touchdown of the game when running back Cameron Reid scored on a run. Wide receiver Calvin Holmes caught a pass for the two-point conversion, forcing an 8-8 tie at the half.
Cross Creek wasted no time making a big play to start the second half, as the Razorbacks forced a fumble on the opening kickoff. That gave them the ball at their own 35-yard line.
The Razorbacks were quick to capitalize off of the turnover, as running back Charles Dickens took a handoff into the end zone for another touchdown. Once again though, Cross Creek failed to make the two-point conversion. Cross Creek held a 14-8 lead with 4:20 left in the third.
Neither team scored for the remainder of that period.
Heading into the fourth, the Eagles knew they needed to make a play, and they did.
After the Razorback quarterback fumbled a snap, defensive back Raymone Braddy recovered the ball and set up the home team at its own 21 for a potential game-winning drive.
Then Hearst took over the game.
Hearst, who also plays quarterback for the Eagles, fired a 40-yard bomb to wide receiver Joshua Johnson. On the next play, Hearst delivered another strike, this time to running back Roe-Dee Nunnery, who scampered 20 yards into the end zone.
Hearst added the two-point conversion to put Josey up 16-14 with only 42 seconds left in the game.
Despite their late desperate efforts, Cross Creek couldn’t score again, and Josey had notched its first win of the season.
Josey will hope to start a winning streak next Friday night (Sept. 18) at Jefferson County, while Cross Creek will hope to get their first win at home against Butler.
(Note: A version of this story appeared in Augusta Good News.)
Contact Williams Reyes at wireyes@augusta.edu.
Josey quarterback Zavion Hearst (7) fumbles the shotgun snap during the Eagles’ 16-14 win over Cross Creek on Friday, Sept. 11. At the top of the page, Josey QB Teon Robinson Jr. fires a pass in the first half on a rainy Friday night at Josey. (photos by Williams Reyes/the Bell Ringer)
