District battle between familiar foes
Jonesboro-Hodge hosts Lincoln Prep to open district play tonight. Dakota Knox (3) and Cenario Wilson (1) are top playmakers for each program. Photos by Brennen Zigler and Josh McDaniel
Local rivals Lincoln Prep (2-1, 0-0) and Jonesboro-Hodge (0-3, 0-0) will play with more at stake than usual as the programs open district play tonight at 7 p.m.
Matching up each of the last two seasons in non-district play, with the Tigers winning both contests, J-Hodge and Prep now meet in the same district (1-1A) – each trying to prove itself with young rosters in a district full of proven programs.
Lincoln Prep is rolling so far, off to a 2-1 start for the first time since 2022, scoring 40plus points in back-toback games for the first time since 2021 in wins over Beekman Charter and Magnolia Charter. Head coach Glen Hall said the dynamics of the rivalry may change on paper, but nothing about hitting the field against the Tigers has been and ever will be easy. Hall and his team remember losing 40-0 at home last year to JHodge. For as good of a start as it’s been for the Panthers, Hall said they must be fully engaged — not overlooking the Tigers and their rough record.
“Everything is the same for us. When you play the game, it’s the same game,” Hall said. “The bottom line is we gotta put ourselves in position to win. Coach [ Terrance] Blankenship runs the same stuff he’s run before, and he’s got a quarterback he believes in. When you look at it, it’s all about which of us performs at our best.”
The Panthers have a true three-headed attack out of the backfield in seniors Jaylin Huntley, D’Tavion Wright, and Verlanski Glosson — a challenge Blankenship doesn’t take lightly as the Tigers try to get in the win column for the first time this year.
“They definitely have some guys that can make plays and take it to the house at any point. We don’t want to get in a foot race with them. Number six [Wright] can go,” Blankenship said. “ We’ve got to load the box and pick our poison. If one of them gets loose and in the open field, they’re gone. We’ve got to get to them before they have a chance to do something.”
J- Hodge will need a sharp improvement from its last outing of surrendering 505 rushing yards at 9.7 yards per carry against Delhi Charter.
Prep’s top runners have consistently produced, with Wright at 6 touchdowns through three games, while Glosson has 3 rushing scores. Huntley has a pair of touchdowns this year, including a 60-yard touchdown on a screen pass last week. The Panthers’ offense has had a nice wrinkle in the wildcat formation in recent weeks, but Hall said the Panthers will start simply to open the game.
“We’re going to start conventional and then use the wildcat as it goes on. But we’re going to start off in our conventional set and have Jordan Brown behind center. But we’ve seen that we have multiple guys who can not only run but can throw the ball too. So, if they stack the box, we’ll probably have one-on-one coverage with Trey Spann and Cenario Wilson outside, two of the best receivers that I’ve coached.”
But if last week was a preview of things to come, Jonesboro-Hodge may have the edge this week in the passing game over Prep after junior quarterback Dakota Knox had 295 passing yards and 3 touchdowns against Delhi Charter.
Knox connected with senior gadget player Christian McGuire often in the game, putting up 6 catches for 230 yards and 3 touchdowns and 247 yards from scrimmage total. Jamarion Johnson, a freshman, had a pair of catches for 51 yards, while senior ZaMauryian Palmer had 14 yards.
“We singled up Christian and kept going at him. That’s what we’ll do. We’ll ride the hot hand each week, and we’ll give Dakota some more passes and try to get him to get it out quick and make good decisions with the ball,” Blankenship said.
J-Hodge’s tough start isn’t concerning yet to Blankenship, who knows the Tigers still have a lot to play for in their seven- game district schedule. And it could all start to be turned around tonight against the Panthers.
“ We always break down the season in three parts: non- district, district, and playoffs. For us, this is a new part of our season, and we get to start it at home against a team we’re familiar with,” Blankenship said. “The kids, coaches, administrators all know each other. And they’re coming in with a winning record and riding high, so we’ve got to be ready to play.”
Jonesboro-Hodge (03, 0- 0) hosts Lincoln Prep (2-1, 0-0) tonight at 7 p.m. at Caldwell Peacock Stadium in Jonesboro.
