The Jayton Jaybirds hosted the Wilson Mustangs in their fourth straight home game of the season last weekend. The injury bug continues to hamper the Jaybirds, as seniors Tye Scogin and Aaron Hernandez were forced to sit out for the second straight week. Junior kicker, receiver and defensive back Tripp Scott also sat out during the contest. For a team that has experienced so much adversity this early in the season, it would be easy to assume that the Jaybirds would be unable to maintain their winning streak.
Everyone might feel that way except the Jaybirds themselves. Behind a strong rushing attack in Pecos Smith, capable passing from several Jaybirds and against a stingy defense, Jayton defeated Wilson 57 to 8 at the beginning of the second half to end the game early. Smith led all rushers with 132 yards on the ground and four touchdowns. Freshman Ben Blankenship, junior Caleb Valerio and Smith each connected with touchdown passes of their own. Senior Evan Cheyne scored two receiving touchdowns, while freshman Nathanial Williams also had a receiving touchdown.
On defense, freshman Kaden Valerio and Smith led the way with 12 tackles apiece. Smith had one interception and returned the ball for a big touchdown. Cameron Benavides made a huge play when Wilson was attempting to score a touchdown late in the second quarter. The quarterback dropped back and threw a deep pass in the direction Benavides was covering. The ball appeared to be out of reach of both players, but Cameron used his speed to barely make the interception. As soon as he made the catch, the speedy senior weaved his way down the field, breaking several tackles. In what appeared to be a touchdown, the referee signaled that Benavides had stepped out of bounds, after breaking what would have been the final tackler before he would score.
While the touchdown didn’t stand, the damage was done. Jayton would go on to finish the game and make their stamp known to everyone in attendance. Even without regular starters, this Jayton squad will not be denied. The depth on this team has proven to be capable of making big plays.
The Jaybirds, now 4 and 0 on the season, will look forward to their first away matchup of the against Petersburg at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 27. As district games approach, Head Coach Josh Stanaland will look to help his team get healthy to make a deep run in their season.
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