By Michael Lindsay
The Cumberland County Jets improved to 2-2 overall Friday evening as they earned a 49-6 homecoming victory over the Pickett County Bobcats.
“We had a couple tough weeks in a row and didn’t play our best last week, so we wanted to come out and put our best foot forward,” said Cumberland County head coach Noah Repasky. “Homecoming is for the school and community; our part is to play the football game. We got to play a lot of our kids.”
The Jets posted 42 first-quarter points as four different players found the end zone. Liam Stephens opened the contest with a 26-yard rushing touchdown followed by a 20-yard touchdown reception from quarterback Grayson Dunlap to give the Jets a 14-0 lead with 9:51 left in the opening quarter.
Cumberland County’s defense stepped up on the ensuing drive as Braxton Tollett intercepted an option pitch and returned it 80 yards for a touchdown to give the Jets a 21-0 lead.
Dunlap threw his second touchdown pass of the first quarter on the ensuing possession as he hit Darel Davis down the left sideline for an 84-yard touchdown pass to extend Cumberland County’s advantage to 28-0 with 5:02 left in the first period.
“We always hang our hat on running the football,” said Repasky. “Tonight was a night we thought we could get back on track.”
Bryson Wilson capped off the first quarter with a pair of rushing touchdowns to give the Jets a 42-0 lead after one quarter.
Freshman quarterback Carsen Smith found the end zone with 3:41 remaining in the second period as he rushed in a 10-yard touchdown to give Cumberland County a 49-0 lead following the extra point from kicker Jamie Perez.
Pickett County got on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter as John Griffin rushed in a 13-yard touchdown to make the final score 49-6 in favor of Cumberland County.
The 2-2 Jets return to Region 4-4A play next Friday as they travel to Upperman while Pickett County is scheduled to travel to Livingston Academy.
