Remains Undefeated at 8-0
The Jena Giants had a big-time matchup this past Friday night and came away with the win to remain undefeated on the season.
The Giants traveled to Avoyelles Parish to take on the 7-0 Bunkie Panthers. The Giants also came into the game with a 7-0 record. The last time the Giants had a matchup of undefeated teams this late into the season was in 2017 when the Caldwell Spartans came to town in Week 9 to take on the Giants.
Jena would come into the game as the #1 team in the Division III Non-Select power rankings while Bunkie came in as the #6 team in the Division III Select power rankings. The Giants came into the game with one of the best defenses and run game in the state while Bunkie came in built on a high-powered offense powered by two star playmakers – quarterback Dillon Compton and wide receiver Kyle Johnson.
Every local media outlet would be at the game and this matchup as their game of the week. Fans were claiming their seats at the stadium as early as 4:00 on Friday. The Jena fans did a great job of traveling as they always do, as they packed their stands and were lined up all along the track. This made for a packed house with not an empty seat in the stadium. With all this hype you would just hope that the game itself would live up to it…and it did!
The captains for the Giants were seniors Zerrick Jones, Dylon Davis, Zach Barker, and Boots Green. Jena would win the toss and would defer to the second half. Bunkie would get the ball on the opening possession and immediately gain the momentum as they would go 65 yards in 5 plays ending with a Dillon Compton 3-yard touchdown run to take an early 6-0 lead.
The Giants would be forced to punt on their first offensive drive of the game and the Bunkie crowd would get loud as it appeared Bunkie was set to take control of the game early. But the Giants’ defense quickly quieted the Bunkie fans, as on the next four possessions for the Panthers, they would only gain 16 yards and would be forced to punt on three-and-outs on all four possessions.
The Giants’ offense would get things going on their second drive of the game, going 49 yards in 11 plays ending with a Zach Barker 26 yard touchdown pass to Zy Hunter to tie the game at 6. Jena senior receiver Zy Hunter, who had been injured earlier in the season, seemed to be the spark the Giants needed as he made several key plays in the first half to get the offense moving.
On the next offensive drive for the Giants, they would go 51 yards in 7 plays. On the last play of the drive, Zy Hunter would take a hand off and weave his way between defenders along the Jena sideline for a 24-yard touchdown run to give the Giants a 12-6 lead.
The Giants would get their run game going on their fourth drive as they would go 72 yards in 9 plays ending with a Cameron Koch 4-yard touchdown run to take an 18-6 lead.
The Giants would get the ball with around a minute and a half left in the 2nd quarter with most people thinking they would just run the clock out and go into halftime with an 18-6 lead. But the Giants had other plans, and on the first play of the drive, the Giants would throw a pass deep in the direction of Zy Hunter. The pass would be underthrown and Bunkie’s star defender Kyle Johnson would get a hand on it and tip it in the air. Hunter then would tip it back and forth until he was able to pin the ball against the back of Johnson and grab it. From there, Hunter was off to the races as he sped towards the end zone in a foot race with Johnson. Johnson would tackle Hunter at the one-yard line in one of the wildest plays of the year for the Giants. On the very next play Zerrick Jones would score the oneyard touchdown run to give the Giants a 24-6 lead.
After both teams’ opening drives, the Giants would go on to score on their next four offensive drives while the Panthers would punt on their next four offensive drives. After the Giants fourth touchdown, they would get a couple of offside penalties on the kickoff that would force them to kick off from their own 30-yard line. Bunkie would take advantage and return the kickoff to midfield. The next play for Bunkie would be a reverse run to receiver Kyle Johnson who ran 44 yards, putting the Panthers into scoring position in the Giants’ red zone. Two plays later, Dillon Compton would score on a 5-yard touchthe down run to make the score 24-14 going into halftime.
The Giants would get the ball to start the second half but would turn it over on downs in Bunkie territory. The Panthers would then go 67 yards in 8 plays ending with a Dillon Compton 36yard touchdown run to pull the Panthers within two at 24-22.
On the Giants’ next drive, they would once again turn it over on downs in Panther territory. At this point all the momentum was on the Bunkie side as their fans were loud and going crazy. But the Giant defense would step up and force a three-andout, forcing Bunkie to punt. The Bunkie punter would punt a line drive ball that would bounce down the field into senior defensive back Demariyon Hammock’s hands. Hammock stood for a minute letting his blockers get into position then took off down the Jena sideline pointing to blockers. Hammock would return the punt 75 yards for a touchdown to swing the momentum back to the Jena side, as the Jena fans went crazy. The Giants would lead 3022.
On the next possession for Bunkie the Giants defense would once again force another punt on a threeand- out. On the night, Giants defense force six three-andouts by the high-powered Bunkie offense.
The Giants would then go 74 yards in 7 plays ending with a Zerrick Jones 5-yard touchdown run to increase the lead to 38-22. Bunkie would threaten one more time as they would move the ball inside the Jena ten-yard line but the Jena defense would stand tall forcing a turnover on downs.
The Giants would go on to win 38-22 to improve to 8-0 on the season.
Zerrick Jones would lead the Giants with 32 carries for 245 yards and 2 touchdowns. Zy Hunter would finish with 3 carries for 38 yards and 1 rushing touchdown while also having 3 receptions for 111 receiving yards and 1 receiving touchdown.
Jacob Pentecost had 9 tackles in the game while Dylon Davis had 8 tackles to lead the Giant defense.
With the win, the Giants passed a huge road test that will prepare them for the playoffs as this game had a playoff-type atmosphere.
This week, the Giants welcome the Caldwell Spartans to town. Anyone that has paid attention to Jena football for the past ten years knows that any time these two teams meet, it is always a great game that comes down to the end. Kickoff will be at 7:00 pm so everyone should come and pack the stands to cheer on the Giants.
If you can’t make it to the game, listen on 102.7 KJNA starting at 6:00 pm with the pregame show.
If you are not in the listening area, then you can tune in on the MIXLR app by searching for KJNAFM or go online at www.kjnafmjena. mixlr.com.
Photos from the game: