The 84 War between Jena and Winnfield, an epic rivalry spanning decades, had another battle last Friday night in Jena with the Giants once again claiming victory with the final score of 46-0.
This would be the 62nd meeting between the two teams whose schools are located just 36 miles apart on US Highway 84. Winnfield leads the all-time series between the two but Jena came into the game winning 8 of the last 10 matchups since 2006. The two teams would come into the game with 2-1 records after they both lost their first game of the season in week three. The Giants would come into the game determined to get back on track after struggling on offense at St. Frederick in the week prior.
The captains for the Giants were seniors Jacob Belcher, Triston McLendon, Zachary Scales, and Colten Sharp. Winnfield would win the toss and would defer to the second half.
After the way the offense struggled against St. Frederick in week 3, there seemed to be a nervous energy in the stadium as the Giants received the ball first. It was very quiet as if everyone was wondering if last week was a fluke or if Jena would struggle again. The Giants would quickly show they were back on track on the first drive as they went 56 yards in 9 plays ending with a Sedrick Wilson 26yard touchdown run. Wilson would also add the two-point conversion to give the Giants an 8-0 lead.
The Giants’ defense would play lights out again as Winnfield would have the ball four times in the first half and would only get one first down in the half. The Giants’ defense would also only give up 33 yards in the first half.
On the offensive side, Jena would have the ball five times in the first half and would score all five times. The 2nd touchdown of the night would come on a long zig zagging 72-yard run by Sedrick Wilson as he would get through the Winnfield defense for his second touchdown of the night. Daniel Hatcher would add the 2-point conversion and the Giants would lead 16-0.
The game would be put away early in the 2nd quarter as Daniel Hatcher would score on an 8-yard touchdown run. Sedrick Wilson would add the 2-point conversion to make it 24-0. On the next kickoff for Jena, Jesse Love would recover the kick to give the Giants the ball again. On the very next play Jena quarterback Deuce McPherson would hit Zadrien Cooper in stride with a beautiful 45-yard touchdown pass to put the Giants up 30-0. The Giants would add one more touchdown in the half as Daniel Hatcher would score his second touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run to give the Giants a 38-0 lead going into halftime.
In the second half the Giants’ defense would continue to dominate as they would only give up 29 yards in the final 30 minutes. The Giants would add one more touchdown as Sedrick Wilson would score his third touchdown of the night on a 6-yard run. Senior linebacker Jacob Belcher would run in the 2-point conversion to give the Giants a 46-0 lead. They would start running the clock late in the 3rd quarter and the Giants would go on to win 46-0.
Sedrick Wilson would have another big game for the Giants as he finished with 12 carries for 157 yards and 3 touchdowns. Quarterback Deuce McPherson would finish 4-6 for 108 yards and 1 touchdown. Senior receiver Brayden Oakes finished with 2 receptions for 56 yards and 2 carries for 16 rushing yards.
Linebacker Jacob Belcher would lead the Giants’ defense with 7 tackles and 2 tackles for loss. Defensive linemen Bubba Stevens would also have 5 tackles and 2 tackles for loss.
The Giants are now 3-1 on the season and this week will travel to Tioga. It seems like any time Jena and Tioga meet it has the chance of being the game of the week in Cenla. A reminder that the game this week will be on Thursday at 7:00 p.m. Everyone is encouraged to make the short trip over to The Reservation at Tioga High School to cheer on the Giants.
If you can’t make it to the game then you can tune into 102.7 KJNA to hear all the live action starting at 6:00 with the pre-game show. If you are not in the listening area then you can download the MIXLR app and search for KJNAFM or go online at www.kjnafmjena.mixlr.com.
Photos from the game:
