Junior running back Clement Jones couldn’t be stopped at the football game Thursday night. He ran 327 yards for the team and scored five touchdowns by the time the clock ran out.
“I had never had [that many touchdowns or running yards] in my whole football career,” Jones said. “The team was really happy. They were telling me congratulations, and to keep doing what I do.”
With Jones’ and his teammates’ work, the varsity football team won the Battle of the Bell against Travis High School 62-34 Thursday night. As part of the tradition, the school will get to keep the Victory Bell for another year.
In the first quarter, it looked as though Travis had come to win, as they made two touchdowns before McCallum had run a play.
“That was pretty discouraging, especially since they were back-to-back,” junior Brent Chandler said. “We just had to keep fighting and play four quarters of football, and we did that.”
Once the team had the ball in its possession, the score turned around. By the end of the first quarter, the game was tied, but the team didn’t stop there. Junior running back Clement Jones scored three touchdowns in the first half to help the team get back on track.
“We just stayed humble,” Jones said. “[Travis’ touchdowns] were our mistakes anyways. We just stuck to our game plan and executed it.”
Sticking to the game plan led to another win for the team, which has now won 14 out of the past 15 years. In the end, keeping the positive attitude worked for the team, with Travis defeated in the 60th anniversary of the schools’ openings.
“I had to know what my assignment was and do my job, and know that everyone else was going to do his job,” Chandler said. “I knew that I needed to do my job, and do it well, and good things would happen.”
Photos by Ben Brown.
