Football Recap: Jacksonville Takes Down Havelock in a Playoff Battle

Two teams were on the hunt for playoff glory, but only Jacksonville walked away with it. They claimed a resounding 56-28 victory over the Havelock Rams. Considering the Cardinals have won five matches by more than 24 points this season, Friday's blowout was nothing new.

Jacksonville had a senior duo take command as Demon June rushed for 252 yards and three touchdowns on only 11 carries and Eric Griffin rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns on only 13 carries. With that strong performance, Griffin is now averaging an impressive 104.2 rushing yards per game. Saronn Thompson did his part to keep the secondary busy, picking up 90 receiving yards.

Jacksonville was unstoppable on the ground and finished the game with 532 rushing yards. That strong performance was nothing new for the team: they've now rushed for at least 208 rushing yards in seven consecutive games.

Jacksonville didn't go easy on the quarterback and picked off three passes before the game was over. The picks came courtesy of Jaquial Bagley and Toriano Sharpless. Those two interceptions gave Bagley a new career-high. Jacksonville got some further help from Emmanuel Lovett: he made 14 total tackles.

When it comes to explaining why Havelock lost on Friday, don't look at Jonathan Williams. Despite the final result, he picked up 242 receiving yards and two touchdowns. Williams was no stranger to the big play, connecting on a big catch that went for 66 yards. Jaylen Hewitt was another key player, throwing for 444 yards and three touchdowns while picking up 11.4 yards per attempt.

Jacksonville's win was their seventh straight on the road, which pushed their record up to 12-1. As for Havelock, they moved to 12-2 with that defeat, which also ended their nine-game winning streak.

Jacksonville has already played their next contest, a 43-7 loss against Seventy-First on the 13th. Havelock does not have any more games scheduled as of now.