Mortimer Jordan can’t score on Lions
KIMBERLY—Seventh-ranked Mortimer Jordan closed out the 2016 football season with a 15-0 home loss to No. 5 Briarwood Christian on Friday night in the third round of the state playoffs.
The Blue Devils (10-3) surprised many with a Class 5A, Region 6 championship after graduating several starters from last season’s state runner-up team.
“After last year, a lot of folks didn’t give this team a chance, but they just kept plugging along,” said Mortimer Jordan head coach Dusty Goode.
For the second time of the year, however, Mortimer Jordan had no answer for the Lions, who prevented big plays.
Briarwood Christian (12-1) didn’t stop Blue Devils’ running back Spencer Brown, but they slowed the UAB pledge just enough. Brown finished with 116 yards on 30 carries in his final prep game.
For the Lions, it was running back JR Tran-Reno that did the heavy lifting. He ran for 161 yards and a score on 24 calls.
However, it was two suffocating defenses that dominated most of the evening, until Briarwood Christian got a break late in the third quarter. The visitors got favorable field position following a poor punt, and quickly capitalized with a 30-yard touchdown pass from William Gray to Carson Eddy. Those two also executed the 2-point conversion for an 8-0 edge with 2:54 left in the third.
Mortimer Jordan did swing back with a 34-yard jump ball from Douglas Moore to Garek Hall, energizing a deflated home crowd, but the drive later ended with a lost fumble. The following Blue Devil drive ended with a punt, leading to a devastating Briarwood Christian possession.
The Lions rolled off a 10-play drive that ended with an impressive hurdle into the end zone by Tran-Reno. He went airborne at the 4-yard line and landed in the end zone for a 15-0 lead with 3:17 remaining on the clock.
“It doesn’t feel good right now, but I love my guys,” said Goode. “I can’t say enough good things about these guys and I wouldn’t trade them for anyone.”
Erik Harris is the Sports Editor of The North Jefferson News. Email him at njnsports@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jeharris2.