Spartans maul the Jags in 42-0 Homecoming victory






Collier Smith rushed for a total of 190 yards for the Spartans in their Homecoming matchup against TJA.

Collier Smith rushed for a total of 190 yards for the Spartans in their Homecoming matchup against TJA.

There’s nothing quite like defeating an old rival, especially when it’s Homecoming night and the opponent never even makes it into the end zone. That’s exactly what happened Friday night for the Edmund Burke Academy Spartans as they shut down the Jaguars of Thomas Jefferson Academy, 42-0, and upped their region record to 2-0.

While Edmund Burke played really well on offense, head coach Aaron Phillips said he was especially proud of his team’s defensive efforts. Not only did the Jaguars fail to score against the Spartans, but they didn’t manage a first down until the third quarter of the game. Phillips said the Spartans forced a handful of punts, three turnovers and a fumble and that both Parker Thompson and Tripp Parker picked up interceptions.

“We were pretty much able to do what we wanted to do, and they didn’t really have an answer for us,” Phillips said, adding that both fullback Collier Smith and quarterback Eason Waters had a phenomenal game.

Smith was a beast on offense, rushing for 190 yards on 9 carries and putting up 3 touchdowns for the Spartans. Waters had 7 carries for 66 yards and 2 touchdowns and also completed a 35-yard touchdown pass to Tripp Parker. So far this season, Smith has garnered 928 yard on 80 carries, averaging 11.6 yards per carry. Waters has picked up 935 yards on 83 carries, averaging 11.2 per carry, and has also scored 13 touchdowns.

“Mason Boswell and Tripp Parker are super important to our game,” Phillips went on to say. “They are making key blocks, allowing for us to break free, and they are getting better and better every week.”

In all, the Spartans had a total of 306 yards against TJA on 28 plays. They rushed 27 times for 271 yards. Boswell and classmate Will Jenkins each contributed 7 yards on 3 carries.

On defense, Brantley Jones had a total of 17 tackles (3 solo and 14 assists). Tyler Rich had 16 (8 solo, 8 assists); Myles Burnette, 14 (3 solo, 11 assists); Will Jenkins 12 (4 solo and 8 assists); and Gray Gunter 10 (2 solo and 8 assists).

While the Spartans have a bye this Friday, Phillips said this will be a work week for the boys as they have two weeks to prepare for Brentwood. “It’s always good to go into a bye week after a win,” he said. “You don’t have that sour taste in your mouth and you’re not marinating on a loss, but we still have work to do. We are going to work on us and getting better at what we do. We’ve gotta get more physical on both sides of the ball and in the trenches. Now is the time to play the best football that we can play.”

Right now, EBA is in a threeway tie with Brentwood and Briarwood for the top spot in the region. Those two schools face one other on Friday night.


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