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COLUMBIA — The Jefferson County High School Tigers were done in by a sluggish offense in the first half and too many turnovers in a 45-28 loss to the East Marion High School Eagles Friday night.

East Marion jumped out to a 12-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and extended its lead to 20-0 by the time halftime arrived. And even though Jefferson County tried to mount a late-game comeback, it was too little, too late.

“We couldn’t get it going offensively early in the game,” Tigers head coach Roderick Holmes said. “Not playing aggressive enough. Playing too passive. We dug too big of a hole on our special teams.”

Holmes added that while the defense only allowed 15 points, it was the Tigers’ offense and special teams that contributed to the Eagles scoring their other 30 points.
“We had two blocked punts and they scored on both of them. Most of their scoring was basically off turnovers. We had too many turnovers. They scored off all of our turnovers.”

Jabari Watson was just 7-for-20 passing for 149 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions. Marsavion Ford had seven carries for 50 yards. Eldrin Brown had four catches for 108 yards and one touchdown.

Jermall Williams was one of the few bright spots for Jefferson County’s defense. He had six tackles, one forced fumbles, one tackle for loss, and two sacks. Tylan Collins also had six tackles.

“We’ve got to stick with it and try to get everything going before district play (begins),” Holmes said.

Jefferson County (1-3) will look to end its three-game losing streak when it hosts St. Charles Catholic High School out of LaPlace, La. at 7 p.m. Friday.