After last week’s 6-6 tie with Savannah Christian, Jenkins quarterback Brenden Carter had a little chat with the Warriors’ offensive line.
Whatever he said worked.
Carter ran for two touchdowns and threw for another score as Jenkins blanked Beach 62-0 at Memorial Stadium on Friday. Carter made it look easy against the Bulldogs, accounting for 235 total yards and completing 9-of-13 passes.
“I have to say something about my offensive line, because last week they weren’t doing so well, but after we got into it in practice they came out and really produced,” said Carter, a senior who said he’s received interest from Miami (Fl.), South Carolina, Wofford, Gardner-Webb and Georgia Southern. “We can score whenever we want when we put our minds to it and follow the coaches’ gameplan. We are coming for everybody, and we’re going to try to do this to everybody we play.”
It took Carter and the Warriors a little less than two minutes to put up their first touchdown. After Jenkins forced Beach to punt, Carter completed a 33-yard pass to Juan De La Rosa and then threw a 20-yard touchdown strike to Malik Benlevi.
The Warriors defense stymied the Bulldogs again, and after a short punt Carter capped a 31-yard drive with a 1-yard touchdown run for a 14-0 lead. Carter’s most spectacular play came near the end of the first quarter when he faked a handoff to Andre Trimble, took a step backward and then motored through the Bulldogs for a 39-yard touchdown run and a 21-0 lead.
“Obviously, I was pleased, but I still didn’t think we blocked well in the beginning of the first quarter,” said Jenkins coach Tim Adams. “We had players make plays, and I was proud of the result. The defense was great for the second week in a row, and (Carter) has the ability to make a lot of plays.
“Carter and his receivers were on the same page, and we had plays called where they made the right decisions,” Adams added.
Jenkins earned 18 first downs and didn’t need to punt while scoring touchdowns on nine of 11 possessions. The Warriors piled up 460 total yards, and eight different players found the end zone.
Leading 28-0 after the first half, the Warriors received the second half kickoff and sophomore Arkeem Byrd sprinted 71 yards for a touchdown on the Warriors’ second play of the second half. Jenkins didn’t attempt a pass in the second half and finished with 326 rushing yards.
After committing several critical turnovers last week against Savannah Christian, Jenkins limited its giveaways to a lost fumble in the second quarter when it already lead 28-0. The Warriors also only committed four penalties while benefitting from 13 penalties whistled on Beach.
“You should always take confidence from a win and praise them for what they did well, but we’ll start 0-0 again next week against South Effingham,” Adams said. “You can’t carry it with you from week to week. As coaches, what we’re supposed to do is to help them keep the confidence but not become arrogant.”
Jenkins 21 7 21 13 -62
Beach 0 0 0 0 -0
J – Brenden Carter 20-yard pass to Malik Benlevi (Clay Cabrera kick)
J- Carter 1-yard run (Cabrera kick)
J – Carter 39-yard run (Cabrera kick)
J – Andre Trimble 2-yard run (Cabrera kick)
J – Arkeem Byrd 71-yard run (Cabrera kick)
J – Jamori Bryant 11-yard run (Cabrera kick)
J – Kenny Morman 3-yard run (Cabrera kick)
J – Melvin Smalls 6-yard run (Cabrera kick)
J – Montraveon Futch 22-yard fun (kick blocked)