Serving Barnwell County and it's neighbors since 1852
The Jefferson Davis Academy Raiders hosted the Holly Hill Academy Raiders last Friday, September 20 in a showdown between two of SCISA’s best football teams. JDA entered the contest with a 4-1 record and Holly Hill brought in an undefeated 4-0 record.
When all was said and done, the Raiders came out on top. Which Raiders, you might ask? The Raiders who had four wins coming into this game. Wait, that was both teams. OK, the Raiders who played in the SCISA 8-Man State Championship Game last year. Wait, that was both teams again. The Raiders from Jefferson Davis Academy defeated the Raiders from Holly Hill Academy by an impressive 36-18 score.
JDA always plays a good game against Holly Hill, but this game was in favor of the hometown Raiders from the start. JDA jumped out to a 22-0 advantage before Holly Hill knew what had hit them. A 22-0 score would mean it was over for most teams, but Holly Hill continued to battle and scored 18 points of their own, but that would not be enough as JDA added 14 more to claim the 36-18 victory.
JDA head coach Anthony Reitenour was asked about JDA’s big win over their Raider rivals from Holly Hill Academy and he said, “Friday was a good win for us. We came out and played really strong and went up 22-0 and then we got a little complacent and our intensity died down a little which allowed Holly Hill to scrap back 18 points. We have to fix that and put together four solid quarters every night. Now, we go back into a rotation of schedule where every game counts toward region standings, the first matchups didn’t matter, so while I’m glad we have played strong in SCISA play, we have to continue to work to solidify those matchups the second go around when it matters! We will get back to work Monday to get ready to face Cross on Friday for our homecoming. We ended up being ahead 38-0 with six minutes remaining in the first quarter the last time we saw them, so I expect us to come out with confidence and jump ahead on them early again this time.”
Jefferson Davis is now sitting at 4-1 with a win over Holly Hill Academy. The Raiders know that all of that is good for the first half of the season, but the region games ahead will determine playoff seedings. If JDA is to return to the State Championship Game to defend their title, they will need to play well the second half of the schedule.
This Wednesday, September 25, JDA will host Cross Schools, with kickoff set for 7 p.m. This will also be the Raiders Homecoming game. Come on out and support your JDA Raiders as they work to defend their State Championship title. The Raiders appreciate all of your support.
