Zion Gilliam of Overhills takes the ball into the end zone.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Overhills routed visiting Harnett County rival Western Harnett in its first home varsity football game of the season, 34-3, on Thursday night.
“I didn’t think we did a bad job considering we practiced really twice all week and that was in the gym because of the heat,” said Overhills coach Mark Kirk. “Our passing game was a little off because we didn’t throw the ball all week. I still think Zion (Gilliam) did a decent job with the passing game, but you could tell his touch was a little off. Overall, I thought we played pretty well. But that was kind of the problem we had was that we didn’t really get to practice. Hopefully the weather will change next week so we can get a full week of practice in. But we got it done.”
A pair of seniors led the Jaguars (2-0). Zion Gilliam was 7-of-20 passing for 106 yards and a touchdown, with one interception, and ran for 91 yards and three touchdowns on 15 carries and Dashawn Lewis ran for 81 yards and one touchdown on 16 carries.
Chance Shabazz ran for 24 yards on two carries and had three receptions for 40 yards. Jailen Hobbs had a two-yard carry and a 30-yard touchdown reception. Nasir McDaniel had an 11-yard run and two receptions for 26 yards. Jovon Langley ran for 26 yards on two carries. Devin Palmer had a 10-yard reception. Hassan Boose ran for six yards on three carries. Charles Sias ran for five yards on two carries.
Kicker Ethan Arney was 4-for-5 on extra points, with the lone miss following a pair of false start penalties, and performed well punting and kicking off for the Jaguars.
Overhills forced three turnovers in the contest, giving the Jaguars a total of nine across their first two games of the season. Tyler Gates had an interception and Carlos Ramos and Jerry Smith each recovered a fumble. The Jaguars held the Eagles to just 77 total yards of offense.
“It helped with field position a couple of times, that’s for sure,” Kirk said. “We were playing with a short field a couple of times, which really helped us. Coach B (defensive coordinator Prentice Bryant) does a heck of a job with the scheme during the week. What we always talk about is to take away their best plays and go from there, and I think that’s what we did.”
The Eagles (0-3) were led by sophomore quarterback Tristin Ung, who completed 4-of-12 passes for 38 yards, with one interception, and ran for 37 yards on six carries.
Daquan McNeill ran for two yards on six carries and had two receptions for 23 yards. Kahlil McLean had a 12-yard reception. Sharone Stephney ran for seven yards on five carries. Tamerius Davis ran for five yards on three carries and had a three-yard reception.
Overhills struck first late in the first quarter when Gilliam connected with Hobbs for a 30-yard touchdown, with Arney adding the extra point.
The Jaguars capitalized on fumble recoveries by Ramos and Smith in the second quarter, with Lewis scoring on a six-yard run and Gilliam scoring on a three-yard run. Arney made the first extra point, but just missed the second after being backed up by a pair of penalties.
Gilliam added two more scores in the second half, on a 17-yard run in the third quarter and a one-yard run in the fourth. Arney added both extra points.
Western got on the board on the final play of the game when Dillon Smith kicked a 36-yard field goal.
Overhills travels to E.E. Smith to start Patriot 4-A/3-A Conference play and Western Harnett is at Northwood on Friday, Sept. 7.
Overhills’ Ethan Arney (12) makes an extra point as Joed Caamano holds.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Western Harnett’s Tristin Ung (7) runs the ball.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Carlos Ramos makes a tackle for the Jaguars.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
Western Harnett’s Chris Smith brings down a Jaguar ball carrier.
(Dunn Area Sports Photo/John Lucas)
