Deerfield-Windsor routs Trinity Christian-Sharpsburg in opener

ALBANY — It had been 258 days since Deerfield-Windsor’s painful loss in the Georgia Independent Schools Association state football championship game last November.

But the Knights showed no effects of a long hangover Friday night in their season opener against Trinity Christian-Sharpsburg.

Deerfield-Windsor scored on its first three possessions, built a 40-point lead and never looked back in a 47-21 rout of the Lions on Friday night at Webb Memorial Stadium.

Garrett Jones scored on a 6-yard run on the Knights’ first possession, then following a three-and-out series from the Lions, quarterback Jack Kimbrel hit wide receiver Howell Logan on a perfectly thrown short pass that Logan hauled in and took 52 yards for a score and a 14-0 advantage.

Then with three minutes left in the opening quarter, Jones added an impressive 79-yard scamper in which he quickly shot through a gaping hole, then outran the Trinity Christian defense to the end zone.

Before many Deerfield-Windsor fans had time to settle into their seats, the Knights had taken complete control.

They added another score when Kimbrel hit John Jacobs on an impressive pass over the middle with 8:41 left in the second quarter, then Cooper Roberts rambled 38 yards for a score as the Knights took a commanding 34-0 adantage.

Fullback Cameron McCook then picked up from where he left off last season, bursting into the end zone on a 2-yard run after the Knights’ special teams recovered a fumble. Deerfield-Windsor led 40-0 with more than half of the second quarter remaining.

Kimbrel was sharp in his season debut, taking over for 2015 Albany Herald Player of the Year Tyler Lowe. The sophomore tossed two first-half touchdowns, but he didn’t need to do too much with the protection the offensive line provided and the ground game chewing up chunks of yardage.

Everything wasn’t perfect though, such as a fumble which led to Trinity’s first touchdown — a 46-yard return by Matt Smith. Then a defensive breakdown led to the Lions’ second score as Knights held a 40-14 lead at halftime.

But Jones quickly stole Trinity’s first-half momentum with less than a minute into the third quarter, dashing 56 yards for his third touchdown run of the game and a commanding 47-14 lead.