Story and video by DDNS Reporter Allie Carson

In their first home game of the season, the Jonesboro Hurricanes defeated the DeSoto Jaguars after being down 21-34 at the half.

“Like I say every week, this group does not quit. They fight and fight and fight no matter what,” Jonesboro Head Coach Tyler George said.

DeSoto’s heavy rush offense was on full display on its opening drive. On a quarterback keeper, Eric Perry made it to the Jonesboro 25-yard line after a gain of 27 yards, soon followed by an 18-yard rush by running back Cade Rogers on 3rd and 4, pushing the Jaguars to the Jonesboro 2.

The Jaguars score and the Golden Hurricane received the ball. On 3 and 15, Hurricane QB Asa Myers throws one downfield and finds running back TJ Brown. A throw to wide receiver Kam Davis puts Jonesboro on the DeSoto 12, a 44-yard gain. Brown scored on the next play for the Golden Hurricane.

DeSoto wasted no time, however, scoring on their next drive, after some Jonesboro flags helped them move the chains and get out of trouble.

A pass-heavy Jonesboro soon tied the game once again after an endzone throw to Brown.

Rogers got into the end zone untouched by the Golden Hurricane defense to put the Jaguars ahead. The punt that followed ended up being recovered by Desoto after the football hit defensive back J’Karious Lattimore.

DeSoto gets the first big lead of the game, going up 14-28 against Jonesboro.

After Meyers gets tripped up after he’s forced to keep the ball, Jonesboro is forced to punt, handing the ball back to DeSoto at their 23.

Thankfully for the Golden Hurricane, their defense is able to hold the Jaguars and get the ball back after a three-and-out.

Clarence Mucherson returns the Desoto punt for 13 yards, putting the Jonesboro offense on the Jaguars’ 33-yard line.

Brown ran up the middle for his third score of the night, closing in on the Jaguars 21-28, but Desoto returned the favor for Perry’s fourth rushing touchdown of the night, making it a 13-point deficit going into the half after a blocked extra point.

The Golden Hurricane came out of the halftime break looking like a new team, scoring back to back touchdowns.

“Came in at halftime, made some simple adjustments, but really nothing major,” George said. “Just executing and doing our job. They came out in the second half on defense and did that. Got a big play on kickoff right there, offense scored back to back to back.”

Running back K’Den Hawkins scored a 67-yard rush 20 seconds into the half.

“We all know Hawkins is super explosive; those are things we can do. We’re trying to find different ways to get him a ball. We’ve been working that last week,” George said.

Hawkins’ touchdown was followed by a punt recovered by tight end Patrick Dutton on Jonesboro, which gave the Golden Hurricane the ball back immediately.

The very next play, Myers threw downfield to Davis, resulting in a 42-yard touchdown. For the first time all night, Jonesboro was in charge of the scoreboard 35-34.

On fourth and 5, Desoto was going for it, but a defender on Jonesboro knocked it away and it was recovered by the Golden Hurricane defense on their own 49-yard line. Soon, Davis scored a 45-yard touchdown, the third touchdown of the quarter, and there was still 8:45 to go.

Three punts later, and Jonesboro had the ball again with two minutes left in the quarter. Brown immediately finds a hole in the DeSoto defense and runs 52 yards to score his fourth touchdown of the night.

Stretching the lead 49-34, neither team scored in the fourth quarter, handing Jonesboro their first win of the season and DeSoto their second loss.

Myers had 299 passing yards throughout the night, while Perry of DeSoto had 90 yards. However, Perry recorded 141 rushing yards against Myers’ 24.

The rushing leaders on both teams, in comparison, were Rogers with 220 on DeSoto and Brown with 126 on Jonesboro.

Jonesboro defensive back Jaques Jordan had a total of 14 tackles on the night, 11 solo and three assists, and made the DeSoto offense lose 4 yards.

“Offensively, we can score the ball better than we have the last two years. So that’s really good. Defensively, it’s a scrappy group. They stay together no matter what, good, bad, or ugly,” George said.