A pair of physical, title-contending programs from northeast Louisiana met midway through Saturday’s long Bayou Jamb slate with one taking control early and never letting up.
Jena running backs Daniel Hatcher and Kaeden Kittlin each took an explosive run to the end zone in the first half, followed by two-point conversions by junior quarterback Jonas Jenkins and Hatcher.
And, though Oak Grove hit its share of big plays as well, the Giants’ defense buckled down for a pair of fourth-down stops that allowed them to stretch out the 16-6 halftime lead and 24-12 victory.
“We did very well,” Jena coach Jay Roark said. “Gave up some big balls, got caught out of position a couple times on quarterback zone read, but we’ve got to do some things to clean up — that’s why we play jamborees. But we’ve got to clean it up quickly because we’ve got a really good (Mangham) football team next week.”
Hatcher took in a second touchdown after halftime with Kittlin adding the two-point conversion to push the margin to 24-6 and continue flexing the potential of the run game despite replacing a graduated quarterback and prolific tailback.
“They’re performing good,” Hatcher said. “Kaeden just got Player of the Game, and he did his thing tonight. And then Jonas, he’s also doing great for us. A mobile QB that we’ve got this year. So offense, we’ve got a bunch of stuff.”
Oak Grove senior quarterback Bryson Reeves led a Tigers offense that showed some explosiveness, but had trouble finishing some drives against a stout Jena defense.
Reeves popped a pair of particularly long runs in the first half.
After a goal-line stand by the Giants on the Tigers’ first possession, senior running back Patrick Hill managed to run in a touchdown on the second to pull within 8-6.
But another Jena score and fourth-down stop before the break and a decisive drive after the break put Oak Grove behind the eight-ball and taking more to the air.
“We did a lot of good things,” Oak Grove coach Ryan Gregory said. “It’s a jamboree. We’ve got to figure out what you’ve got to get better at, and right now we’ve got to be able to finish drives on offense. We got inside the 5 twice in the first half and got no points. We got ’em to several third downs in the first half to be able to get off the field. We’ve just got to be able to finish drive and finish defensive possessions.”
Reeves and company found some success with the passing game as well, including big connections with tight end Eli Layton and freshman wide receiver Keldrick Robinson, who hauled in a leaping touchdown in the second half.
Gregory liked a lot of what he saw from his Tigers, including the progress of a new-look offensive line against the physical Giants, and said the focal points for improvement are part of the nature of the early-season process.
“I think we’ve got a long way to go,” Gregory said. “But none of those (previous state championship) teams were state championship teams coming out of the jamboree. I think if you’re at your best in the jamboree, you’re gonna be in for a long, disappointing November. So we’ve got a long way to go, but I think these guys are gonna get there.”
