Jacksonville Fl- Mandarin wide receiver Jamie Ffrench Jr set the tone early for the Mustangs, scoring on a 40-yard touchdown, on a perfect pass from quarterback Tramell Jones on the first play from scrimmage. The Mustangs never looked back, beating Atlantic Coast on the road 47-0.
Atlantic coast fumbles the kick off Mandarin recovers. First place from scrimmage touchdown @TramellJonesJr to @jaimeffrenchjr 6-0 Mustangs @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/56YJkQX4Lj
— Strikeout Photography (@PaulSim5198139) August 30, 2024
The game was not without adversity for the Mustangs. After Jones hit freshman wide receiver Brysen Wright for a 35-yard touchdown on the Mustangs second drive, the senior signal caller went down with an apparent leg injury.
Not a good sight for Mustang fans, QB1 Tramell Jones carted off… @KnoxAnnisqb in at QB @DuvalSports pic.twitter.com/HMCzyPW6oX
— Strikeout Photography (@PaulSim5198139) August 30, 2024
Entered Freshman quarterback Knox Annis, who after a Mustangs safety lead Mandarin on their third scoring drive of the half, capped by a 5-yard touchdown run by running back Donte Perry. The Mustangs lead the Atlantic Coast Stingrays 21-0 at half.
Without their senior signal caller available, the Mustangs tuned the game over to their offensive line and stable of running backs to help their freshman signal caller. The offensive line of right tackle Austin Candler, left tackle Samuel Smedley, center Ben Bouton and a trio of guards, Vhohn Housand, Myles Hay and Aiden Digioia-Miller paved the way for the vaunted Mustang running game in the second half.
Before his injury, Jones was well on his way to a spectacular performance. He finished the game 4 of 4 for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns in only one quarter of action. The injury was certainly a hard knock to Mandarin, as they will be without the 4-star FSU commit possibly for the remainder of the season. In just two games, Jones passed for 439 yards, 5 touchdowns and 0 interceptions. A whopping 169.1 quarterback rating.
Against Atlantic Coast, the balanced Mustang running game was led by workhorse Deion Winstead who had 10 carries for 66 yards, Quez Foster added 4 rushes for 55 yards and a TD. Ayden Owens had 2 carries, 20 yards and a TD. Donte Perry had a TD, and even Knox Annis chipped in with 2 rushes for 48 yards and 2 touchdowns.
My mistake @Donte_Perry1 in for the score, oline doing work and Perry brings the hammer down… @Austincandler32 @BenBouton_ @big50vhohn @biggameJames_36 pic.twitter.com/24wzcOdyXC
— Strikeout Photography (@PaulSim5198139) August 31, 2024
Annis showed his hard metal by not only coming into the game unexpectedly, but performing at a high level to run for scores. Overall, the Mustangs were balanced on offense with 194 yards on the ground and 196 through the air. We should expect this for the rest of the season from them.
The defense brought it all night long versus the Stingrays, pitching a shutout once again. The secondary lead by Drake Stubbs, Brody Jennings, Tamajh Mitchell and “The Sheriff” Shareef Jackson gave up nothing though the air while linebacker’s Izzy Ratliff, Kameron Mills and Kemari Spriggs took care of stopping the Atlantic Coast running game. Ratliff had an interception off a tipped pass to set up a touchdown. The D-Line collapsed the pocket all night long, making it a long night for the Stingrays.
Mandarin CB @MitchellTamajh gets into the act with a punt return TD, of course it was called back due to a penalty. The fifth touchdown called back in the game. pic.twitter.com/PgRA1vbYAT
— Strikeout Photography (@PaulSim5198139) August 31, 2024
The Mustangs improved to 2-0 after the victory, and Atlantic Coast fell to 1-1. The Mustangs take on Sandalwood next week before their big game against Bradford on 9/13. Atlantic Coast takes on Fletcher.
