No more magic, Jennings comes up short
Published 6:00 pm Saturday, December 12, 2020
Warren Arceneaux
JENNINGS — The Bulldogs playoff magic finally ran out as Madison Prep upset No. 1 Jennings 27-20 Friday night in a Class 3A quarterfinal.
Madison Prep (8-2) advanced to face Church Point in the semifinal round.
Jennings (8-1) had mastered the narrow win over the past two seasons, winning four playoff games by a single point, including a 50-49 win at Lutcher last week.
This time the fourth quarter went the other way, with Madison Prep scoring two touchdowns in the final quarter to seal the win.
On fourth-and-goal with 9 minutes left, Zeon Chris found Tyrell Raby on a slant route for a touchdown to give the Chargers a 19-14 lead.
The Chargers reached the red zone again with a little more than 2 minutes remaining, but Jennings defensive back Trevor Etienne made an interception in the end zone with 2:28 left.
On the ensuing drive Chargers cornerback David Jones intercepted a pass and returned it 45 yards for a score to extend Madison Prep’s lead to 27-14.
The Bulldogs scored on a 40-yard run by JaCorien Palfrey with 52 seconds left, but the Chargers recovered the ensuing onside kick and ran out the clock.
Jennings was the state runner-up last year.
“I’m proud of my seniors and this football team,” Jennings head coach Rusty Phelps said. “It hurts now, but we will have to lean from it and come back next year.
“I hurt for our seniors who laid it on the line for us. Hats off to Madison Prep who came in here and played a good football game. We executed our offense really well, we just had a couple of miscues and got behind the chains a little bit. It just wasn’t our night.”
Jennings opened the game with a 12-play, 60-yard touchdown drive, all on the ground. Etienne capped the drive with a 2-yard touchdown run off left tackle.
The Bulldogs moved the ball the rest of the half but failed to convert the production into points, with one drive ending at the Chargers 35 on a lost fumble.
Madison Prep took a 13-7 halftime lead, scoring a touchdown in the final minute of both quarters. Jacarre Cooper scored on runs of 12 and 3 yards.
Madison Prep outgained Jennings 248-119 in the half. Zeon Chriss threw for 152 yards and ran for 41 in the first half. Raby had four catches for 89 yards, including a spectacular diving catch for 19 yards to set up Cooper’s second touchdown run.
Jennings took a 14-3 lead on a 39-yard run by Etienne in the third quarter.
Rick Hickman / American Press
