The Raiders were on the road for the second straight week as they headed to Meridian to take on Northeast Lauderdale for the 9th time in school history. The game got off to a great start for the Raiders as they capitalized on two costly errors (a fumble recovery by JT Thigpen and a bad snap on a Trojan punt), to take a 14-0 advantage. The Trojans seem unfazed as they rattled off 20 unanswered points to take a 20-14 lead.

Then things shifted for the Raiders dramatically, as sophomore Marcus Harris entered the game and was the featured back on nine of the twelve plays that covered 62 yards and consumed nearly 5 minutes off the clock as JA took the lead heading into halftime 21-20.

The second half started off the same way it ended for JA?another scoring drive with a lot of Marcus Harris and a little sprinkle of Andrew Holmes connecting with William Janous. The Raiders marched the ball down the field and in just six plays they covered 78 yards and took a 28-20 lead. The Trojans followed with a lengthy drive (clock-wise) that stalled out and after another bad snap they managed only a 7 yard punt. JA made sure they didn?t miss this short field scoring opportunity as Andrew Holmes found Russell Hawkins wide open in the end zone for a 31 yards score and Russell?s first on the season.

Entering the fourth and final quarter, JA led 35-20 and fumbled the ball to the Trojans at the JA 38 yard line. The Raider Defense stood tall and forced a 4th down decision that iced the game for the Raiders as senior Ja'Ree Myers intercepted Chris Hardy and took it the house from 82 yards away to give the Raiders a 42-20 lead. The Trojans wound up scoring one more time to set the final score at 42-27 as JA moved back to the five hundred mark at 2-2 on the season.

JA will return home next Friday night at The Brickyard at 7pm as they host Oak Forest Academy.

Offensive Stats:
Marcus Harris - 19 carries, 136 yards, 2 TDs
Parker Ryan - 6 carries, 48 yards, 1 TD
Andrew Holmes - 4-for-7, 89 yards, 1 TD,
William Janous - 3 catches, 58 yards
Russell Hawkins - 1 catch, 31 yards, TD

Defensive Stats:
Caleb Hernandez - 17 Tackles, 11 Solo,
Chase Rush - 13 Tackles, 9 Solo, 2 TFL
Porter Harrell - 13 Tackles, 5 Solo
Walker Barnes - 12 Tackles, 7 Solo
JT Thigpen - 10 Tackles, 5 Solo, TFL, FR

For full stats of the game Click Here