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Moore County runs away from Jo Byrns




Jo Byrns tailback Elijah Farmer finished with 150 rushing yards and a touchdown. FILE/BILL CLARK

Jo Byrns tailback Elijah Farmer finished with 150 rushing yards and a touchdown. FILE/BILL CLARK

CEDAR HILL – The Jo Byrns Red Devils fell to 1-7 after suffering a 34-7 defeat to the Moore County Raiders Friday night. 

A steady rain for much of the first half led to sloppy conditions throughout the game, resulting in several turnovers that the Red Devils couldn’t overcome. 

“Moore County’s a pretty good football team,” Jo Byrns coach Tom Adkins said. “We’re young and we keep making mistakes, but I thought we had a better effort in the second half. I just felt like Moore County came out and wanted to play, and we just have to learn to play through wet conditions like these.”

Moore County jumped out to a 20-0 lead in the first half, thanks in part to a big night from fullback Tyler Smith, who finished with three rushing touchdowns. 

After the Raiders recovered a fumble from Jo Byrns quarterback Taylor Head, Smith scored his first touchdown on the following play with a 40-yard run. 

Smith found paydirt again on his next carry, which came after Moore County forced a three-and-out on defense. He broke free for an 84-yard touchdown to put the Raiders up two scores by the end of the first quarter. 

Moore County added to its lead with under five minutes remaining before halftime. A 26-yard pass from Brayden Cashion to Joshua Parks helped set up a 13-yard touchdown run from Kyler Parker.

“I know that Coach Adkins had some guys hurt, but it’s always good to come up here and be able to perform well,” Moore County coach Jason Dobbs said. “They have some great football players. (Rudy Tucker) is a really good football player. We couldn’t block him all night and had to run away from him. I have the upmost respect for these guys up here, and I’m honored to be on the winning side tonight.”

Jo Byrns did themselves no favors to begin the second half, as a fumble on the opening kickoff from Bailey Serignet was recovered by Donavin Pearson and returned 30 yards for a touchdown, giving Moore County a 27-0 lead. 

The Red Devils managed to respond to the turnover on their following possession, mounting their best drive of the night, going 37 yards in nine plays. Elijah Farmer ended the drive with a 6-yard touchdown run.  Farmer led Jo Byrns with 150 rushing yards on 19 carries. 

“I thought Eli ran the ball pretty (well),” Adkins said. “He had a good night for us running the football.  I think Rudy Tucker also had a good game on defense. I don’t know how many tackles he had, but almost every time I looked up, No. 55 was in on a tackle. I thought he had a good performance, and we ran the ball well at times.”

Moore County ended the third quarter by putting an exclamation mark on the game with Smith’s third touchdown of the night this time on a 3-yard run. 

Despite a disappointing start to the season, Jo Byrns still has a chance at making the playoffs. The Red Devils get a bye next week before ending their season with two region 4-1A opponents versus Gordonsville Oct. 25 and at Pickett County Nov. 1. 

“We’ve got a couple of kids dinged up, so the bye (week) comes at a good time for us,” Adkins added. “We still control our destiny as far as getting into the playoffs, so we need to get healed up and hopefully get a couple of kids back in time for Gordonsville.”

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