Jefferson Middle falls to Spring City
The struggles continued for the young Jefferson Middle School football team as it dropped its fourth consecutive game Thursday night, losing 36-19 to Spring City at Blankenship Field.
The Eagles, who won their season opener Aug. 8 at Christian Academy of Knoxville, have since fallen to 1-4 overall and 1-3 in the Tennessee Valley Athletic Conference.
The Bulldogs jumped out to an early 18-0 lead, scoring on their first three possessions. Despite a chance to close the gap, Jefferson was unable to capitalize after Jordan Samuelson appeared to catch a touchdown pass that was ruled out of bounds.
“I thought he was inbounds,” Jefferson Coach Rodney Ellison said. “But the official said that he was out. Even though it didn’t count, it was a great catch. It would have been a Top 10 play on ESPN.”
Samuelson’s catch would have made the game a one-possession contest.
Despite the ruling, he had a standout performance, rushing for a 6-yard touchdown set up by one of his kickoff returns and a 26-yard scramble by quarterback Easton Knipp.
Slow starts have plagued Jefferson all season, and Thursday was no different.
“Spring City kind of came out and jumped on us, and we were shell-shocked,” Ellison said.
While Jefferson is a young team with a roster full of seventh graders, two sixth graders stood out.
“I want to give a shout-out to a couple of sixth graders,” Ellison said. “Nic Fletcher had a big game for us, and Karson Ball has started on the offensive line all season. His future is definitely going to be bright.”
Fletcher led the Eagles in rushing, amassing 82 yards on three carries and scoring two touchdowns with runs of 62 and 21 yards.
Ball, a starter on both offense and defense all season, made significant contributions on the defensive line, tallying five tackles, including two for loss.
Amari Bishop recorded six tackles, including one for loss, and led the Eagles in receiving with three catches for 38 yards.
Brogan Helle, Brandon Zamora, and Gavin Ellison each contributed four tackles, while Landon Thurlow had three tackles and two sacks.
Next up for Jefferson: The Eagles will travel to Clinton Thursday night to take on the Hawks (1-4, 0-4) at 7 p.m. Clinton will celebrate its eighth-grade night.
“It should be a dogfight,” Ellison said. “Both of us will be looking for a win, and Clinton has really gotten better.”