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Evans stays undefeated with shutout

Knight grooves
By Billy Byler  |  Columbia County Bureau

Saturday, October 6, 2007

                                                                                  

Evans faced one of its toughest challenges of the year Friday night at Richmond Academy.

Jim Blaylock/Staff

Evans High School's Sean Matthews charges through the ARC line for a gain in the first quarter on October 5, 2007.

The Musketeers, still looking for their first win of the season, didn't seem to present much trouble for Evans. The biggest obstacle was in the Knights' own heads.

"It was hard not to look ahead," senior Jonathan Nicely said after the Knights won 35-0. "Nothing against ARC, but we're coming in and playing a team that's 0-5 and we know we've got the best team we've ever had to play next week with Statesboro. It was very hard to stay focused on this game."

The Knights (5-0, 4-0 Region 3-AAAA) can concentrate on Statesboro (5-0, 4-0) all they want now. Evans' victory sets the stage for next week's battle when Statesboro comes to town.

that," Evans coach Marty Jackson said. "I had an opportunity to look at the Statesboro film this week, but I didn't do it. It's hard. It's human nature to look ahead."

The Knights' last step before the big battle with the Blue Devils went Evans' way from start to finish Friday night, including an interception by senior Trey Henderson that he returned 56 yards to Richmond Academy's 3-yard line in the first quarter.

It was the first of many defensive highlights for the Knights.

"The defense played awesome," sophomore Jonathan Finch said. "If we can continue that, they'll take us big places. We know we've got a strong defense."

While the starting defensive unit gave up only three first downs, the Knights' offense went to work early and often. Finch finished off Henderson's interception with a 4-yard touchdown run with 6:23 left in the first quarter.

Kevin Millward threw a 28-yard touchdown pass to Henderson later in the half, and junior Perron Jones pounced on a high snap over the head of the Richmond Academy punter and into the end zone with 9 seconds left in the first half for a 21-0 halftime lead.

That momentum stayed with the Knights.

"Evans is the best team in this area, and we knew we were going to have to come out and play a perfect game," Richmond Academy coach Chris Hughes said. "We weren't able to do that."

Evans struck on the ground with 158 yards on 34 carries and through the air with 139 passing yards. Nicely was on the receiving end of 108 of those yards on six catches.

Reach Billy Byler at (706) 863-6165 or billy.byler@augustachronicle.com.

EVANS 35, RICHMOND ACADEMY 0

Evans 7 14 7 7 - 35

Richmond Academy 0 0 0 0 - 0

First Quarter

E-Jonathan Finch 4 run (Matt Dickerson kick), 6:17

Second Quarter

E-Trey Henderson 24 pass from Kevin Millward (Dickerson kick), 5:38

E-Perron Jones fumble recovery (Dickerson kick), 0:09

Third Quarter

E-Millward 3 run (Dickerson kick), 6:29

Fourth Quarter

E-Sean Matthews 8 run (Dickerson kick), 9:44

EVANS 35, RICHMOND ACADEMY 0

First Downs  E 10 R5
Rushes-Yards E 35-166 R24-54
Passing Yards E 139 R71
Comp.-Att.-Int. E 8-20-0 R6-18-1
Fumbles-Lost E 1-0 R5-1
Punts-Yards E 2-39.0 R4-39.8
Penalties-Yards E 4-30 R2-15

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING-Richmond Academy: Jontavius Williams 9-22, Jerrel Anderson 4-35, Louis Russell 2-(-8), Jacob Adams 1-(-4), Alex Pruitt 3-2, Brady Hughes 2-1, Dan Porter 2-8, Devon Torres 1-(-5). Evans: Trey Henderson 6-35, Brandon McCladdie 5-14, Sean Matthews 6-38-1, Jair Grant 2-7, Troy Griffith 1-7, Jonathan Finch 10-34-1, Taylor Hooven 1-0, Kevin Millward 4-31-1.

PASSING-Richmond Academy: Brady Hughes 4-9, 41, Dan Porter 2-9, 30. Evans: Kevin Millward 5-16-1, 101, Taylor Hooven 2-3, 22, Troy Griffith 1-1, 16.

RECEIVING-Richmond Academy: Brandon Vereen 3-26, Jontavius Williams 1-7, Mar-Quan Medlock 1-19, Jerrel Anderson 1-19. Evans: Jonathan Nicely 6-108, Trey Henderson 2-31-1.

PLAY OF THE GAME: Evans quarterback Kevin Millward nearly sacked himself when he tripped over his own feet midway through the second quarter, but he recovered to find Trey Henderson for a 24-yard touchdown pass and a 14-0 lead.

WHY EVANS WON: The defense. The Knights allowed only 15 rushing yards on 17 carries in the first half en route to their first shutout of the season.

WHY RICHMOND ACADEMY LOST: The Musketeers couldn't stay on the field long enough on offense. They managed only five first downs, and two of those came on their final drive.

STAR OF THE GAME: Take your pick. Junior outside linebacker Jeffrey Rice and junior cornerback Perron Jones were two of many defenders who turned in top performances. On offense, Jonathan Nicely had six catches for 108 yards.

WHAT'S NEXT: Evans returns home to face Statesboro next week; Richmond Academy is off.

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