Scott’s four touchdowns/pick lead Johnson County past East Laurens in 49th Border War

Johnson County used a gritty ground game and a four-touchdown performance from Jeremiah Scott to open the season with a 32-15 road victory in the “Border War” versus East Laurens Friday night.

The Trojans rushed for 368 yards, piled up 455 yards of total offense and built an 18-0 halftime lead. Johnson County had three runners finish with at least 80 yards, and attempted just six passes all night.

“We wanted to play bully football,” Trojans head coach Don Norton said. “That’s what the kids wanted to do, and that’s what we did.”

Johnson County established that approach from its first possession, but it was the Trojan defense that had to make the game’s first stand.

East Laurens took the opening kickoff into Johnson County territory, and drove as far as the 29 before being stopped on fourth down. JoCo responded with a seven-play, 71-yard touchdown drive without attempting a pass. Jacaden Webb, Jeremiah Taylor and Scott all carried the ball on the march, with Scott finishing it on an eight-yard touchdown run for a 6-0 lead.

The Falcons soon had an even better opportunity after Braedyn Evans returned a kickoff 67 yards to the Johnson County 15. East Laurens moved as close as the Trojan 6, but again came away empty when a fourth-down completion left the Falcons one yard short of a first down.

Johnson County made it 12-0 when quarterback Chance Wombles connected with Scott for a 40-yard touchdown.

The Trojans continued to pound the ground, with Scott breaking a 34-yard run early in the second quarter. The Trojans eventually drove inside the East Laurens 10 before consecutive penalties pushed them backward. Facing third-and-nine from the 16, Wombles found Scott for another touchdown to extend the Johnson County advantage to 18-0.

East Laurens threatened again before halftime, but Scott made his presence felt on defense when he intercepted Sky Snead at the Johnson County 13.

The Falcons got another opportunity late in the half and again crossed midfield, but the JoCo defense stopped Snead short on fourth down as the half expired.

The numbers reflected the Trojans’ first-half control. 

Johnson County went to the locker room with 278 yards of offense compared with East Laurens’ 63. The Trojans had 222 rushing yards and 14 first downs in the opening half, while the Falcons managed only 40 rushing yards and four first downs.

“We didn’t play well enough in the first half, we really didn’t,” East Laurens head coach Jesse Hicks said. “We knew what they were going to do. There’s really no secret about what Johnson County does. They did a good job of it in the first half. We didn’t get enough stops in the first half, and then, of course, we couldn’t move the ball the way we wanted to. We had a couple of good looks offensively, but we just weren’t consistent enough offensively to do anything and keep the score decent.”

Johnson County picked up where it left off after halftime. Webb scored on a 7-yard run in the third quarter to stretch the Trojan advantage to 24-0.

East Laurens finally broke through when Jaden Griffin scored on a 28-yard run in the third quarter. Major Floyd ran in the two-point conversion to cut the Johnson County lead to 24-8.

The Trojans responded with another methodical drive that carried into the fourth quarter. Johnson County continued to lean on its running game, converting key downs and steadily moving into Falcon territory. Scott eventually finished the drive with a 20-yard touchdown run, and Wombles connected with Daezon Devero on the two-point conversion to push the lead to 32-8.

The Falcons refused to go away. 

Snead connected with Major Floyd for 17 yards on a third-and-10 and later broke a 29-yard run on another third-and-10. Dianco Murray added a 13-yard run before Jeremiah Rozier scored from six yards out. The kick was good, cutting the Johnson County lead to 32-15.

But East Laurens would not get the football back.

With the Falcons trying to force one final possession, Johnson County went back to the formula that had worked throughout the night. The Trojans kept the ball on the ground, and after East Laurens used a timeout, Johnson County faced fourth-and-one in Falcon territory. Taylor broke a 10-yard run for the first down, allowing the Trojans to run out the remaining time.

“I think our offensive line played well,” Norton said. “We stayed in the same set all night.”

Scott finished at the center of a balanced Johnson County rushing attack. He carried 13 times for 128 yards and two touchdowns, while Taylor added 94 yards on 16 attempts. Webb rushed 12 times for 81 yards and a touchdown, Kelsey Waters added 47 yards on 10 carries and Zacorian Graddy had 18 yards on three attempts.

Wombles completed four of six passes for 87 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. Scott caught three passes for 58 yards and two touchdowns, giving him 186 yards from scrimmage and four offensive scores to go along with his interception on defense. Devero had Johnson County’s other reception for 29 yards.

Snead led the East Laurens offense, completing nine of 18 passes for 76 yards with one interception and rushing eight times for 63 yards. Jabryan Bigham added 30 yards on four carries.

Johnson County finished with a 455-216 advantage in total offense and out-rushed East Laurens 368-140. The Trojans had 24 first downs to the Falcons’ 14, converted seven of 11 third downs and both of their fourth-down attempts. East Laurens finished 0-for-3 on fourth down.

For the Trojan players, the victory was satisfying even if they saw plenty that could be improved.

“We came in and played how we were supposed to, made a few errors and were able to correct them,” Johnson County center Matthew McCoy said. “We let up a little on defense and a little on offense, but were able to pull it through.”

“We slipped a little bit,” Trojan lineman Jeffrey Dupree said. “But overall, we came back and we fought even harder.”

Norton was happy to leave a rival’s field with a victory, particularly on a hot night that tested both teams.

“I’m very excited. Ain’t nothing like winning a rivalry game,” Norton said. “East Laurens has got amazing athletes. I’m just proud to come over here and get a win at their place. It’s always tough. They didn’t quit, and I’m real proud of our kids. They didn’t quit. It was hot. Cramping.”

Johnson County will return home next week to face Warren County, while East Laurens will travel to Southeast Bulloch.

“We swallow it and we get ready to do it again,” Hicks said. “We’ve got a 24-hour rule. We’ve got Southeast Bulloch.”