Bush Sparks John Tyler Past Nacogdoches By Harold Wilson

November 28, 2010

John Tyler Football


Bush Sparks John Tyler Past Nacogdoches By HAROLD WILSON
Staff Witer

NACOGDOCHES -- John Tyler utilized its full arsenal of weapons, armed by the dual-threat abilities of David Bush and a stern defense, to make another big stand in District 14-4A football.

Bush put together another career night with 380 yards of offense and three touchdowns and JT generated five turnovers -- two each from Chris Hackett and Triston Wade -- to defeat Nacogdoches 42-12 on homecoming Friday at Dragon Stadium.


The 10th-ranked Lions (4-1, 2-0 in 14-4A) passed their second straight district contest with flying colors, using the airwaves for most of the damage. Bush passed for 290 yards and a pair of TDs, and rushed for a team-high 90 yards and another score. The senior scrambled his way to a thrilling highlight-reel play, rolling over a defender and seemingly being stopped before he darted up and raced 75 yards down the visiting sideline to give JT a 35-6 lead.

Bush benefited from a well-rounded attack, hitting seven different receivers on the night.

Devonte Haggerty, a junior receiver, finished with four catches for a game-high 103 yards -- all in the second half. Fred Ross, a sophomore receiver, hauled in four receptions for 57 yards.

Jaylon Thorn tacked on three catches for 73 yards, including a scintillating 57-yard score in the first quarter.

Greg Ward also pulled in three balls for 53 yards, highlighted by a 27-yard TD snag right before halftime.

JT churned up a season-best 481 yards and 21 first downs. Damarcus Humber helped the offense with eight carries for 29 yards, reaching the end zone twice on runs from seven and two yards out.

Jeremiah Henry carried five times for 43 yards, putting the first points on the board with a short 2-yard run midway through the first quarter.

"We have a lot of quality receivers," JT head coach Dereck Rush said. "They work hard in practice and we reward them with touches ... and they can take it to the end zone."

The JT defense dominated for the fifth straight week.

The Lions, who held their previous two opponents minus touchdowns, proved stingy again. JT only budged when Nacogdoches capitalized on a turnover with a short TD drive, and later scored on the last play from scrimmage with the game out of reach and most first-teamers watching from the sideline.

Wade, a senior safety, pieced together another all-state worthy performance with eight tackles, an interception, a fumble recovery and three pass break-ups.

Hackett, a senior safety committed to TCU along with Bush, snagged his first interception with what appeared to be one hand, and soared high to take his second pick later in the game.

Senior linebackers Antjuan Lee (11 tackles) and Davontaye Kennedy (seven tackles, interception) also made big impressions on the game.

Nacogdoches quarterback Jacob Howard topped the Dragons (2-3, 1-1) rushing with 65 yards and one TD, plus passing for 140 yards and a late score to Arsenio Hall.

JT took a while to get the chains moving, netting only five yards on its first 11 plays. JT caught a break, however, when Ben Gordon separated Jacques Yarbrough from the ball on a punt return, setting up the Lions at the 2.

Henry punched in on a 2-yard run two plays later, and JT never trailed.

The Lions committed their own special teams error, getting a punt blocked to set up Nacogdoches from the 12, leading to a 1-yard run by Howard on a keeper. JT's special teams answered though when Eric Davis blocked the point-after attempt to keep the lead in the Lions' favor.

The JT offense struck for scores on its final three possessions of the first half to take a commanding 28-6 advantage.

Thorn traveled over the middle of the field 57 yards for a TD off a wide receiver screen; Humber busted up the middle and ducked his head past the plane for JT's third score; and Bush lobbed a 27-yard strike to Ward, who made an over-the-shoulder grab to close the half on a high note for the Lions.

"We came out slow," added Rush, whose team trekked 80 and 75 yards on its final two scoring drives of the first half. "We can't come out slow and win quality football games. We have to teach them to be focused for four quarters. We're getting better. It's definitely something to build on."

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At Dragon Stadium, Nacogdoches

No. 10 John Tyler 42, Nacogdoches 12

John Tyler 14 14 7 7 -- 42

Nacogdoches 6 0 0 6 -- 12

First Quarter

JT-Jeremiah Henry 2 run (Julian Varona kick), 5:39

NAC -- Jacob Howard 1 run (kick blocked), 1:16

JT -- Jaylon Thorn 57 pass from David Bush (Varona kick), 0:20

Second Quarter

JT -- Damarcus Humber 7 run (Varona kick), 4:04

JT -- Greg Ward 27 pass from Bush (Varona kick), 0:40

Third Quarter

JT -- Bush 75 run (Varona kick), 2:38

Fourth Quarter

JT -- Humber 2 run (Varona kick), 5:26

NAC -- Arsenio Hall 27 pass from Howard (conversion failed), 0:19

EST.-ATT. -- 5500.

JT NAC

First Downs 21 20

Rushes-Yards 27-191 40-149

Passing Yards 290 140

Com.-Att.-Int. 17-29-0 11-26-4

Punts-Avg. 2-16.0 4-36.2

Fumbles-Lost 0-0 3-1

Penalties-Yards 12-95 6-51

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING -- John Tyler, David Bush 10-90, Jeremiah Henry 5-43, Damarcus Humber 8-29, DeQuante Woods 1-26, Fred Ross 1-8, Ben Gordon 1-5, Greg Ward 1-(-10). Nacogdoches, Jacob Howard 19-65, Bubba Johnson 10-40, Damion Johnson 5-27, Team 1-10, Jacoby Ervin 3-6, Lavenskie Rhodes 2-1.

PASSING -- John Tyler, Bush 17-27-0 -- 290, Ward 0-2-0 -- 0. Nacogdoches, Howard 11-24-2 -- 140, D. Johnson 0-1-1 -- 0, Cole Banner 0-1-1 -- 0.

RECEIVING -- John Tyler, Devonte Haggerty 4-103, Ross 4-57, Jaylon Thorn 3-73, Ward 3-53, Woods 1-6, Gordon 1-3, Humber 1-(-5). Nacogdoches, Banner 3-27, Arsenio Hall 2-31, J'Mar Hall 2-28, Geoffrey Deckard 1-37, B. Johnson 1-9, JR Theiss 1-9, Rhodes 1-(-1).