Glen Rose makes usual statement vs. Jessieville
JESSIEVILLE — Beating Glen Rose is football is no easier for T.J. Burk as a Jessieville coach than it was as a Jessieville player.
Their 3A-5 conference opener Friday night dissolved into a comedy of errors at times but ended predictably. Despite four turnovers by each team, one leading directly to a Jessieville touchdown, Glen Rose left Phillips Field with a 43-13 victory that never seemed in doubt.
The Beavers scored the last 21 points after junior Carson Hair passed 51 yards to senior Charlie Davis for a third-quarter touchdown that brought the Lions within 22-13. Hair also had a hand — make that hands — in Jessieville’s other touchdown. A third-year starter at quarterback who plays free safety, Hair carried out a strip-and-search operation with a 60-yard fumble return in the second quarter for a 7-7 tie.
Otherwise, although not always playing with the precision one has come to expect of a Mark Kehner-coached team, the Beavers improved to 3-1 (losing to Malvern). Senior quarterback Wesley Launius passed to junior Dalton Taylor for the first score and swept right end for 33 yards down the right sideline to break the tie.
Glen Rose dominated the last quarter and a half, beating Jessieville for the 11th consecutive year — with only the 35-27 game of 2014 decided by less than double digits. One prolonged drive symbolized Jessieville’s frustration on this night and in the series.
Leading 30-13 after senior Noah Wright took a bubble screen pass from Launius 48 yards, the Beavers caught the Lions napping in coverage and fell on a squib kick downfield. Glen Rose then faked a punt, junior Conner Taylor taking a pass to the 19, and was rewarded on a pass-interference call in the end zone that enraged Jessieville followers.
Dalton Taylor went the last six yards of a Glen Rose drive that seemed to last forever, and it was 36-13 with 11:08 remaining. Conner Taylor scored from a yard out at 4:29 to bring the final score in line with last year’s 45-14, and the Beavers were threatening again when time ran out.
Both teams stick in the conference this week, Jessieville (2-2, 0-1) going to Bismarck (1-3, 0-1) and with Glen Rose (3-1, 1-0) home against Genoa Central (3-1, 1-0). The Lions go to Genoa Central (Miller County, east of Texarkana) Oct 9.