Sprayberry’s offense came to life after a sluggish first half in which it managed just 43 total yards, and the Yellow Jackets cruised to a 31-7 victory Friday against Cambridge in a Region 7-AAAAA Division B game.
The victory was the fifth consecutive for Sprayberry (5-2, 4-0). The Yellow Jackets moved a half game ahead of fourth-ranked Kell, which was idle on Friday, in the race for the subregion title. The teams will meet at Kell on Oct. 31 in a game that most likely will decide the championship.
Senior running back Rakeem Myricks’ night was typical of the way things went for the Yellow Jackets, who finished with 339 yards of offense. The senior was held to 19 yards rushing on eight carries in the first half but added 80 more and had touchdown runs of 3 and 22 yards in the final two quarters.
The same trend was true for quarterback Andrew Pereira. He was an efficient 4-for-5 passing for 67 yards and a touchdown in the second half after being held to 30 yards passing in the first.
Cambridge (4-2, 1-2) came in averaging 38.8 point per game but was shut down by the Yellow Jackets. Quarterback Brian Moore was 17-for-31 passing for 223 yards and a touchdown, but 135 yards came in the final quarter and a half as Sprayberry pulled away. Moore spent so much of his time trying to find open receivers or escaping a rugged pass rush that he also led the Bears in rushing with 51 yards on 15 carries.
Moore also threw two interceptions to linebacker Brandon Woods that the Yellow Jackets converted into touchdowns.
Sprayberry led 3-0 at halftime on a 51-yard field goal by preseason all-state kicker Rodrigo Blankenship. The Yellow Jackets added to the lead on the first possession of the second half, scoring on Myricks’ 3-yard run to cap a 43-yard, eight-play drive.
Cambridge cut the lead to 10-7 on a 31-yard pass from Moore to Hunter Smith. The Yellow Jackets answered on their next possession with a 26-yard pass from Pereira to Jon Palmer to make it 17-7 with one minute remaining in the third quarter. After the interceptions by Woods on Cambridge’s next two possessions, the Yellow Jackets got touchdowns on Myricks’ 22-yard run and a 12-yard run by Trey Sermon to put the game away.
Cambridge – 0-0-7-0 – 7
Sprayberry – 0-3-14-14 – 31
S – Rodrigo Blankenship 51 field goal
S – Rakeem Myricks 3 run (Blankenship kick)
C – Hunter Smith 31 pass from Brian Moore (Clayton Hammer kick)
S – Jon Palmer 26 pass from Andrew Pereira (Blankenship kick)
S – Myricks 22 run (Blankenship kick)
S – Trey Sermon 12 run (Blankenship kick)
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