News-Times Staff
Whatever problems ailed Junction City after their Purple & Gold Game, they seemed to have gotten fixed in time before their scrimmage against Harmony Grove earlier this week.
Shuvasceiaye Frazier ran for two scores and threw for another in the Dragons' 48-20 win over the Hornets.
Hishmma Taylor and Jamie Carroll each ran for a pair of scores, and coach Steven Jones said the tempo of the offense was much improved from the Purple & Gold Game.
“Definitely,” Jones said. “That’s what coach (Kendall) Hutcheson talked about after the game and after practice (on Wednesday) how we have picked up a lot of different things that we needed to fix from the Purple & Gold Game. We looked a lot better. We looked like we knew what was going on and we were in the right spots, and a lot of the mistakes we made offensively were just effort mistakes, so that’s a good sign as far as them knowing what we’re doing. We’ve just got to get to where we’re going 100 percent for four quarters.”
The defense also turned in a solid performance with Tykeon Hollidy, Keyvontae Haynes and Jakiron Cook each recording an interception.
“They stepped up,” Jones said. “When they fly to the ball like we did for the majority of the night, we’re going to be pretty tough.”
Although he had two touchdowns on offense, Jones was pleased with Carroll's play on defense.
“Jamie Carroll stepped up, especially on the defensive side of the ball,” Jones said.
“I feel like he’s going to play a lot over there this year."
Like Carroll, fellow sophomore Brady Hutcheson has also forced his way into the mix of getting playing time.
“Brady Hutcheson is going to end up finding his way on the field,” Jones said.
“He’s a hard-working kid and seems to do the right thing and be in the right spot. He studies it and wants to learn it, so he'll be on the field somewhere.”
Another player that has also come on of late is Haynes, who is a junior.
“Keyvontae Haynes is a guy that struggled early on at receiver, but he’s really starting to catch on to everything,” Jones said.
In topping the Hornets, the Dragons showed off their big-play ability with four of their touchdowns going for 40 or more yards.
Frazier accounted for two of those touchdowns, scoring on a 40-yard run while throwing an 83-yard touchdown pass to Jalen Hayes.
Taylor had a 70-yard run along with a 3-yard touchdown run, and Carroll scored on a 65-yard run that was coupled with a 1-yard run.
Frazier, whose other touchdown came on a 10-yard run, will be the starting quarterback when the Dragons host Bearden next week in their season opener.
“Shuvasceiaye Frazier will be the starter,” Jones said. “He’s won the spot. He’s really done a good job over the last few weeks of getting us in the right call.
“We kind of let him have it a little bit, and he’s a guy that can take a broken play and turn it in to a huge gain. When you have to account for the quarterback in the run game, it makes it really tough.
“That’s what be brings to the table, so he’ll be the starter.”
With a week to go before the season opener, Jones said the Dragons will spend plenty of time dissecting film and begin their final preparations for the Bears.
“We’ll go back through and watch a lot of film from this game and get everything corrected and ready to go for next week,” Jones said.
“We’ve been implementing the game plan for Bearden for the past month, so I feel like that we’re prepared for them.
“We’re looking forward to actually playing a game that counts. We’re tired of going out and running into each other all day. We’re ready to go play somebody else on a night that it matters.”