Gray twins dampen Charles City’s Homecoming with six combined scores
Charles City’s Jamil Roberson (9) finds himself caught up in the grasp of John Marshall’s Donta Everett (52).Andre' Jones photo
Friday night’s homecoming football game for Charles City’s Panthers looked to provide an opportunity to earn their first win in more than five years as they welcomed the visiting John Marshall Justices from Richmond. But unfortunately for the Panthers, a pair of twin brothers from the visitors elected to spoil the festivities and opportunity to win for the hosts.
John Marshall’s Jacquan Gray rushed for four touchdowns while brother Jacquise Gray caught one and ran one in for a score as the visiting Justices coasted to a 42-0 win over Charles City, extending their losing streak to 24 games.
It would be an early blunder in the game for the Panthers that quickly swung momentum in the contest in favor of John Marshall. After the Panthers failed to move the ball on their first three plays, a high snap on a punt resulted in the ball rolling deep into Panther territory. Moments later, Jacquan Gray toted the ball in from 10 yards out for the first score in the game.
Charles City began playing stall ball, trying to milk time off the clock early on to shorten the game. The ploy worked as the Panthers were able to keep the ball away from the Justices until late in the first. But the last two minutes would be all the visitors needed to build a huge lead. Jacquan Gray carried the ball in from 25 yards down the Justices’ sideline for the next score and a 14-0 advantage.
On the ensuing kickoff, Charles City muffed the kickoff, resulting in John Marshall regaining possession. Jacquan Gray registered runs of 35 and 15 yards, with the latter crossing the plane of the goal line with 1:22 remaining in the opening quarter and increases the Justices’ advantage to 20-0.
The first drive in the second quarter saw Jacquise Gray get into the action. Justice quarterback Lamont Wilson connected with Jacquise Gray on a swing pass from 11 yards out, increasing the visitors’ margin to 28-0. That margin would remain through the halftime break.
Charles City began to find success in the third quarter on the ground, with runs by Damian Barnes Jr. and Shane Jones taking the ball to the Justices’ 30-yard line. But like most of the night, additional miscues saw a bad snap lead to a fumble recovery for John Marshall. It wouldn’t be until midway in the fourth quarter when the visitors would score again as Jacquan Gray ran the ball in from 45 yards out. After Charles City turned the ball over again on another miscue, Jacquan Gray carried the ball down to the one-yard line. From there, brother Jacquise Gray finished the drive with a plunge into the end zone, accounting for the final score of the contest.
After the contest, Charles City Head Coach Sherod Jones spoke about the difficult season and the tall tasks that remain at hand.
“We, as coaches, can want it for the kids, but the kids have to want it,” Jones said. “They have to want to block, they have to want to tackle, and they have to want to put the time in at practice.
“Right now, they want to win,” the head coach added. “But as I told them before, winning doesn’t just happen when you show up on Friday nights. You have to work during the offseason, work during practice, and want to get better. I hope these guys can put together the desire to get better over these next four weeks. We still aren’t out of the playoffs, but we have to do better.”
Charles City’s record falls to 0-6 on the season.