Maynard Jackson moves to 5-0 with 29-13 win over Drew, 3 TD night for quarterback Rayshaun Parks

The Maynard Jackson Jaguars are off to a great start to the season as they improved to a 5-0 overall record and 2-0 in the region standings after their 29-13 win over the Charles Drew as junior quarterback, Rayshaun Parks finished with three total touchdowns, two rushing and a 40 yard passing touchdown to senior Ricky Dorn III.

“Our kids fought hard,” Maynard Jackson head coach, Eric Williams said after Friday’s win, however noting his players got away from playing disciplined a few times throughout the night, but were able to overcome self-inflicted penalties to hold on for the win.

“It got a little chippy at the end, but that’s our kids. They’re young and eager and they’re very aggressive,” Williams added, explaining he would prefer to calm his players down versus having to push them to be aggressive, which the Jaguars had no issues setting the tone early on in the game after a early third down stop by their defense would lead to a Maynard Jackson touchdown on the ensuing possession courtesy of Jacobs Jackson as they took a 7-0 lead.

In the second quarter, the Jaguars would extend their lead to 13-0 as Parks and Dorn III connected on the previously mentioned 40 yard touchdown pass, however it would be the Jaguars’ defense that would be the story of the half as they held the Titans scoreless after a goal line defensive stance, which would result in Maynard Jackson to force Drew running back Jaylen Aquino to fumble the ball into the end zone, resulting in a touchback.

“That was big. They have a great running  back and I used that as motivation,” Williams said of challenging his team to step up to the task of limiting Aquino, who was the leading GHSA 4A rusher heading into the night. “He had 300 yards last week on this very same field versus Midtown, so I challenged them to come out and meet the task of making sure he didn’t do that against Maynard Jackson,” Williams added.

And the Jaguars managed to keep Aquino from scoring on Friday, they would take a 20-0 lead as Parks who pick up his second touchdown of the night on a quarterback keeper in the third quarter. The Titans would respond on the ensuing possession as Zach Hill through a touchdown pass to Zion Hill, making the score 20-7 in favor of the Jaguars, however, Maynard Jackson would score the next nine points, including Parks’ second rushing touchdown to take a 29-7 lead, eventually getting the 29-13 win.

Now the Jaguars will turn their attention to another region foe in Midtown, Williams wants his team to focus on “playing a cleaner brand of football” next week. “When you’re ahead, you don’t want to get into the chippiness of the game. You want to stay disciplined and just finish the game out in good fashion,” Williams said.