Polished Patriots thrive in win over Jackson-Olin
HOMEWOOD — David Robertson pulled in the shallow pass as he cut across the middle of the field, his shoulders and hips shifting toward the end zone.
That’s where he wanted to go. He couldn’t be stopped.
Robertson, Homewood High's junior running back, out-sprinted the Jackson-Olin defense before lunging across the goal line near the front, left corner of the end zone. He sprung up after the outstretched play, found the man who had made it possible and waved his arms toward the sky.
“Coach always tells me, ‘once you get it to guys like David, they’ll do the work for you,’” said Homewood quarterback Larkin Williams, initiator of the 19-yard, third-quarter touchdown.
Robertson’s full-extension dive extended his Patriots' lead to three possessions and all but finalized Homewood’s 28-6 Friday night victory over Class 6A, Region 5 opponent Jackson-Olin. The home triumph moved the Patriots to 4-0 on the season and 2-0 in region play.
“What I was really proud of was the way we came out and played the second half,” Homewood head coach Ben Berguson said. “I challenged them at halftime because we didn’t do anything last week in the second half.”
Last Friday’s win against Parker saw the Patriots nearly choke away a 20-0 halftime lead before escaping with a 20-14 victory. This week proved a different story.
After Robertson’s touchdown, which capped his team’s opening drive of the third quarter, Homewood locked down on defense. Jackson-Olin’s final four possessions of the game ended with interceptions, as Jaden Alexander, C.D. Daniels, Crawford Doyle and Ky Burdeshaw all recorded picks.
“We just came together as one,” said Devin Bacchus, a senior linebacker.
Bacchus came away with an interception of his own in the first half, and it enabled Homewood to enter the intermission with a little extra breathing room.
Bacchus swatted a ball out of midair with one hand and then collected it with the other. Forty-four yards later, he was celebrating a pick-six with his teammates in the back of the Mustangs’ end zone.
“They threw it two times, and I’d seen it go right over my head twice,” Bacchus said. “It was bound to happen.”
The return pushed Homewood’s lead to 21-6 and wrapped an opening half that got off to an inauspicious start. Williams, the Patriots quarterback, threw his own pick-six in the first quarter that gave Jackson-Olin (2-1, 0-1 in region) a 6-0 lead.
But Williams and his Patriot offense recomposed itself upon stepping back on the field. Running back Nick McCoy capped a seven-play, 73-yard drive with a 3-yard touchdown plunge on the ensuing possession. The score gave Homewood a 7-6 lead and began a run of 28 unanswered points.
Williams scrambled in from 6 yards out in the second quarter before Bacchus’ pick and Williams' throwing touchdown.
“Tonight we just looked put together,” Williams said. “Everybody seemed like they were clicking.”
Williams went 11-of-20 for 122 yards and added 57 yards on the ground. McCoy paced the Patriots’ rushing attack with 104 yards on 17 carries. TyShawn Buckner caught six passes for 59 yards.
Homewood will return to action next Friday at Waldrop Stadium in a non-region game against Helena. The Patriots won’t face another region opponent until they make the short trip to John Carroll on Oct. 6, and that’s OK with Berguson.
“We’re in a great spot in the region,” Berguson said. “We’re in the driver’s seat.”