Jackets dominate scrimmage

At last Friday night’s preseason football scrimmage between Jeff Davis and Appling County, there was little doubt in anyone’s mind that the Yellow Jackets were much farther along than the Pirates in their preparations for the opening of the 2026 season.
Coach Lance Helton’s charges dominated the 2-quarter matchup between the varsity players and the younger Yellow Jackets outpaced the younger Pirates during the final portion of the scrimmage.
While neither team scored during the varsity encounter, the Yellow Jacket jayvees got the only score of the evening.
Jeff Davis moved the ball well throughout the first two quarters, driving deep into Appling territory only to turn over the ball with fumbles twice — the first time inside the Pirate 30 and the second time on the Appling 8 yard line.
Appling, ranked No. 7 in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s preseason Class 3A rankings, had limited success through the airways but finished the night with only 4 yards rushing. The Jacket defense was solid from beginning to end. There were several individual standout efforts but, as a whole, it was the team defense that stymied the Pirates’ offense.
Jeff Davis controlled the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball, despite the Pirates’ superior size.
Juniors Mark Durden, Jacob Laney, Garrison Coleman and Kailyn Biggins, and seniors Kobe Hill, Josh Worthington and Jaiden King, among others, all had standout individual plays on both sides of the football as many of the Yellow Jackets went both ways.
Overall, the night proved to be an encouraging team effort by the players and coaching staff alike.
This week, Jeff Davis will host Dublin for a scrimmage against the Fighting Irish, the No. 5 ranked team in the AJC’s preseason Class 2A poll. The season opener is set for Aug. 21 against Vidalia in Hazlehurst.