So far, so good for Marcus Jelks.
The new Stephenson head coach is now 2-0 at his alma mater, and just as importantly, 1-0 in the all-important rivalry against backyard rival Southwest DeKalb after a 22-13 win Friday night at Hallford Stadium.
Jelks was on the very first Jaguar squad as a freshman in 1996 when the legendary Ron Gartrell started the program. After graduation, Jelks went on to play four years at South Carolina State University, and then came home to join Gartrell’s staff. He spent 10 seasons at Lithonia before he got the call to come home and take over for Gartrell this season.
“Everything I’ve learned about building a program, I learned from him,” Jelks said afterward. “I learned so much from him.”
The fact that his players mobbed him after the game spoke to the significance of the win over Southwest DeKalb (0-2), even though the Jaguars have now won 9 of the last 10 meetings.
“Southwest DeKalb is a good team and this is a great rivalry,” Jelks said. “So this win is great and means a lot.”
The teams traded scores over the first three quarters as Stephenson took a 7-0 lead in the first quarter on a 47-yard touchdown pass from freshman quarterback Marte Barton to senior Rahim Diarrasouba.
The Panthers countered with a 37-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Sadir Ryan to sophomore Ali Dargan, who outjumped a Jaguar defender down the near sideline for the score. But the point after kick was blocked and Stephenson maintained the edge, 7-6.
The Jaguars went three-and-out on their ensuing position, but Diarrasouba stepped up again, this time on defense. He took advantage of a miscommunication between Ryan and his receiver, who wasn’t looking for the quick pass down the seam. Diarrasouba stepped in front of it and returned the interception 20-yards for the score with 1:15 left in the half to push the Jaguar lead to 13-7 after the PAT was blocked.
But Southwest DeKalb took the opening drive of the second half and went on a 13-play, 85-yard drive. The Panthers cashed in when Ryan found Ke’Antae Thornton behind the Jaguar defense for a 23-yard touchdown.
The game turned in the fourth quarter. With the game tied at 13, Southwest DeKalb drove from its 17-yard line down to the Jaguar 14-yard line, on the hard running of junior Billy Johnson and a 51-yard pass from Ryan to sophomore Malik Colquitt.
But Stephenson’s defense held, led by juniors Winston Bradford, Ethan Patterson and Christopher Williams. The Panthers turned the ball over on downs and Stephenson took over at its 22-yard line.
The Jaguars then flipped the field by going on a 14-play drive deep into Southwest DeKalb territory. The drive stalled and the Panthers took over at their 23-yard line, but couldn’t move the ball and went three-and-out. The snap on the fourth-down snap flew out of the back of the end zone for a safety, and Stephenson took a 15-13 lead with just 2:46 to play in regulation.
Senior Cordell Andrews returned the free kick 40 yards to the Southwest DeKalb 40-yard line. From there Jelks put the game in the hands of his big boys up front on the offensive line, an ode to Gartrell’s ground-and-pound style. An eight-yard touchdown run by Cheik Kita with 1:11 left put the game out of reach.
“We wanted to run the clock out and our guys did a good job,” Jelks said. “We started the drive a little sloppy, but we stayed with it and stayed consistent.”
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