RANDLEMAN — Coming into the contest, Jordan-Matthews’ head coach Sam Spencer knew it would be a challenge for his young Jets to stay on the field with a No. 2 ranked Randleman squad.
The effort by J-M proved futile as the senior-laden Tigers dominated in every phase of the game in a decisive 69-0 victory over the Jets at Charlie Gregory Stadium in Randleman on Friday night.
Jordan-Matthews dropped to 0-3 in the 2A PAC 7 Conference with the loss and to 1-7 overall while Randleman improved to 3-0 in the league and to 7-0 overall.
“It’s been a tough three weeks to open the conference,” said J-M coach Sam Spencer. “Randleman is ranked No. 2 in the state for a reason and they showed why tonight, they have a legit shot at making a state title run. And playing them comes after games with Eastern Randolph and HP Andrews, two other really good teams. But our guys fought as hard as they could and continue to do some good things. So I’m proud of the fight they showed.”
Up front, the Tigers owned the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball in limiting the Jets to just nine yards of total offense while scoring 28 points in the opening quarter and 27 more in the second enroute to a commanding 55-0 advantage at the half.
Randleman grabbed a quick lead when quarterback Coby Price connected with Dawson Edwards on a 41-yard pass and then Dominick Poole on a 29-yard strike to set up Na’hiem Lilly slicing in from 11 yards out before Chris Gentry added the first of eight PAT kicks to give the Tigers a 7-0 cushion with 11:02 left in the opening period.
After forcing a J-M punt, Lilly would haul in a punt and 66 yards later the electric sophomore reached pay dirt to advance the lead to 13-0.
From there things continued to snowball for Jordan-Matthews in the opening period as Lilly would score from 12 yards out before Jaquan Snipes added the two-point conversion, and Snipes raced in from seven yards out to move the score to 28-0 with 3:21 left in the first period.
In the second, it was more of the same as Harrison Moffitt completed a 21-yard TD pass to Poole, and Snipes weaved his way 32 yards for a score to advance the RHS cushion to a commanding 41-0 midway through the second quarter.
A 42 yard punt return by Poole set up Randleman scoring on a two-yard pass from Moffitt to Robby Rich before Moffitt ran in from three yards out just before the half to make the score 55-0 at the break.
“We just couldn’t slow them down, they are balanced on offense and can run and throw the ball efficiently,” said Spencer. “Randleman has some great skill players but they are also good up front, offensively and defensively, and have a lot of experience. It will take a great team to beat them.”
With a running clock, Randleman would receive a one-yard touchdown run by Chandler Norfleet in the third quarter and a 14-yard scoring blast from Tradd White with just over three minutes left in the contest.
Lilly closed the night with 112 yards rushing on seven carries while Snipes added 87 yards on eight attempts.
Jordan-Matthews returns home this Friday for a matchup with the 0-7 Trinity Bulldogs. Spencer said his team will be “excited” to play in the Homecoming game.
“It’s a big week and we want our kids to enjoy it all and to have fun, but we also want to prepare for Trinity and be focused and ready on the game,” he said. “There should be a big crowd and our kids still have a lot to play for.”