Aynor plays ‘clean’ game, tops former region rival Marion in opener

Aynor coach Jody Jenerette calls his football roster “inexperienced,” not “young.”

Well, on Friday night his players did a nice job in starting to compile their collective resume.

Behind nearly 300 yards on the ground, the Blue Jackets dominated time of possession while not turning the ball over en route to a 22-14 win over former Region VIII-AA foe Marion.

“They’re growing up quick; that’s what I love about this group,” Jenerette said. “I’m not going to use the ‘Y’ word. We’re inexperienced. We gained a lot of experience tonight.”

Quarterback Caleb Jenerette rushed 18 times for 67 yards and a touchdown, Brayden Nobles piled up 62 yards and a score on 14 carries and Jonathan Gause ran eight times for 48 yards and a TD as Aynor ran 63 times for 283 yards.

“We just ran the ball very effectively and had zero turnovers. If we’re going to beat anybody, we cannot fumble. We had a few penalties but it was a pretty clean game,” Jenerette said. “They really didn’t get the ball. Everything went right tonight. It was just a great team win for our kids.”

The Blue Jackets led 14-0 at halftime, but the Swamp Foxes made a push at the start of the second half, scoring on their first drive and then forcing Aynor to punt on the ensuing possession. However, the Blue Jackets were able to stop the momentum and hold on for a victory.

“We had a little adversity coming out in the second half,” Jenerette said. “But I was real pleased how our guys responded. It would have been easy to belly up, but they responded pretty well.”

While Marion is no longer a region rival and was a bit of a different team with a new coaching staff, Jenerette was pleased with his team beating an opponent he said many believed it would not.

“It’s just huge,” Jenerette said. “I don’t think anybody but the guys in our locker room thought we had a chance tonight.”

Jenerette hopes getting that first win under their belt will pay dividends with his players moving forward. However, he cautions that there’s no guarantees with a young squad.

“It builds on where we can go from here, but this means nothing if we lay an egg next week,” Jenerette said. “With an inexperienced team you can lay an egg in a hurry.”

New to their schedule, the Blue Jackets take on Andrew Jackson next week.

“We’ll have a lot of prep,” Jenerette said. “We’ve got to get to work.”

This story was originally published August 20, 2016 at 12:55 AM with the headline "Aynor plays ‘clean’ game, tops former region rival Marion in opener."