By DAEJAH MONTGOMERY

Contributing Writer

It was the first game of the season for both Danville and East Jessamine, and East was ready for the Admirals.

Danville had no chance for any bold moves as the Jaguars proved to be too strong on both defense and offense as they handed the Admirals a 34-7 defeat Friday in the R.J. Corman Bowl at West Jessamine.

East Jessamine continued to move the ball past the Admirals through four quarters while also effectively stopping the Admirals’ offense. The Jaguars gained a three-touchdown lead in the first half and were invulnerable after that.

Danville (0-1) struggled to get past East’s defense, missing multiple scoring chances in the first half.

The Admirals didn’t score until the fourth quarter, when Trinden Sellers made it to the end zone, and the Jaguars didn’t let them in again after that as Danville lost its season opener for the second year in a row.

Coach Frank Parks Jr. said that throughout this game the Admirals made little mistakes that turned into big mistakes, eventually costing them the win.

The Admirals threw in some good drives throughout the game, but Parks said the little details they missed caused them to not “mentally be in the game.”

Parks clarified that his players are working towards improving their attention to detail this coming season.

“They’re still young guys and they improve, but we’ve still got to be more aware of the minor details,” he said.

East Jessamine (1-0) opened the game with three first downs leading to the first touchdown of the game by Peyton Musick. The Admirals strengthened after that, as the Jaguars got no more first downs for the rest of the quarter.

The second quarter looked promising for Danville in the early going, but as soon as East Jessamine got the ball back it drove for a 16-yard touchdown run by Derek Morton.

The Jaguars recovered a fumble that turned into another score less than four minutes later on the first of two touchdown passes from Will Harrison to Brady Cummins, and they took a 22-0 lead into the locker room at halftime.

East made it 28-0 on a rushing touchdown by Shawn Reed in the third quarter and went on to gain 133 yards in the second half.

Danville got on the board with a 7-yard rushing touchdown by Sellers midway through the fourth quarter, and Kaleb Wilcher added the extra-point kick.

The Admirals second-half fight was reflected in their 268 offensive yards in the third and fourth quarters, including 101 passing yards by Naythan Doyle and 34 receiving yards by Sellers.

Home opener

Danville will host Pulaski County in its home opener Friday. It will be the second time in as many years the Admirals and Maroons will meet at Admiral Stadium; Pulaski won 47-6 last year.

Pulaski, a Class 5A school, is coming off a 4-8 season and a coaching change that saw former Boyle County defensive coordinator hired to lead the Maroons.

They battled Class 2A powerhouse Beechwood to the wire last week before bowing 28-27 in Burns’ debut.

The Maroons were led in their opener by junior quarterback Zak Anderson, who threw for 226 yards and two touchdowns and ran for a TD. Sophomore wide receiver Kasen Brock caught seven passes for 124 yards and a TD.

 

Scoring Summary

Danville 0 0 0 7 – 7

East Jessamine 7 15 6 6 – 34

First Quarter

East Jessamine – Peyton Musick 2 run (Bogar Franco Reyes kick), 9:35.

Second Quarter

East Jessamine – Derek Morton 16 run (Brady Cummins run), 7:31.

East Jessamine – Brady 21 pass from Will Harrison (Reyes kick), 4:06.

Third Quarter

East Jessamine – Shawn Reed 4 run (kick failed), 6:24.

Fourth Quarter

Danville – Trinden Sellers 7 run (Kaleb Wilcher kick), 6:37.

East Jessamine – Brady 6 pass from Harrison (run failed), 3:00.