J’ville paddles Alexandria
- Updated: August 26, 2022
Golden Eagles finally claim The Paddle they designed after Alexandria held onto it the first three years
By Al Muskewitz
East Alabama Sports Today
Clint Smith called his players out of the sauna that was their dressing into the cool evening air to make a special presentation.
He called his seniors up to the front of the gathering and at the most dramatic moment pulled out the prize they had been waiting four years to hold.
Smith held high over his head the fraternity-style paddle that has become the symbol of the Golden Eagles’ rivalry with Alexandria.
They designed the darned thing and have never gotten to hold it until Friday night. With their 24-10 win at Lou Scales Stadium, the Golden Eagles ended the Valley Cubs’ three-year hold on the paddle.
“Kids watch college football, they watch all the big rivalry things, a few years ago we were able to get the paddle thing going,” Smith said. “We talk about it all the time, every year we play. We’re just glad it’s coming back to Jacksonville. It’ll be in our trophy case, no doubt and we’re thrilled to have it. It’s going to look good sitting up there for a year. Hopefully, we can keep it.”
The Golden Eagles made paddle for the 2019 game fully intending to bring it back home, but the Valley Cubs had different ideas. They ripped it out of Jacksonville’s hands that first year and then won the next two games in the series handily, meaning this year’s Jacksonville seniors were in danger of going their whole career without holding the prize they designed if they didn’t come through Friday.
And they did come through, answering a halftime challenge by shutting out the Valley Cubs in the second half and holding them to 30 yards total offense (minus-12 rushing) in the final two quarters.
“We were close the first half on a couple plays, but really just put it all together right there in the second half,” Smith said. “We talked about at halftime that if we wanted it we were going to have to go take it, and that’s what they did. They went and took it the second half.”
Jacksonville quarterback Jim Ogle hit his first six passes in a 80-yard touchdown drive that opened the game, then curiously missed his next eight throws the rest of the half.
The lull allowed Alexandria to rally for a 10-7 halftime lead. Cleat Forrest, who barely missed a 50-yard field goal attempt in the first quarter, hit a 41-yarder and Antonio Ross spun through contact up the middle for a 31-yard touchdown run. Ross rushed for 125 yards in the game on 15 carries.
Ogle completed a short pass to Damonte Sinclair early in the third quarter that was negated by offsetting penalties, but the completion that will never appear in anyone’s play-by-play got him back on track. He ended the string of incompletions on the next play and then hooked up with Kydric Fisher on a 56-yard touchdown and the Golden Eagles never trailed again.
“It helped me get back my rhythm,” Ogle said. “That’s all I needed. Once I get in a rhythm it’s tough. It really helped me get my rhythm and got my confidence going a little bit. I’m just proud of our guys. They didn’t give up on me, I didn’t give up on them, we just kept coming after them, we figured it out.”
“I went up to him, he was like, ‘Man, it didn’t count,’ but I was like, ‘hey, it got us going,’” Fisher said.
“You don’t want to give a guy that’s talented like is any confidence, and he was down,” Valley Cubs coach Todd Ginn said. “But we had two guys cramped up and in that transition he gets going and it was the worst thing that could have happened.”
Ogle, who had plays called for him by his dad Jimmy Ogle with offensive coordinator Jamison Edwards home with a fever, completed 5 of his last 9 throws and finished 11-of-23 for 186 yards for the game. Fisher, who caught Ogle’s first four throws on the opening drive, caught eight balls total for 138 yards.
The elder Ogle, a longtime Jacksonville State assistant coach, said he was having “the most fun I’ve ever had in my whole life” calling plays for and coaching his son.
Once the offense got going again, the Jacksonville defense made sure the Valley Cubs wouldn’t threaten. It ended Alexandria’s next two possessions with turnovers — Charlie Wright’s sack and forced fumble and later Will Phillips’ fumble recovery — and Ogle and Co. converted them both into points to extend the lead.
“I thought the first half we played OK and were right where we needed to be,” Ginn said. “We made some adjustments at halftime and felt pretty good … but we never got it going. We needed to play well, we didn’t play well the second half; that’s just the way it is.
“Jacksonville’s got a really good team and I knew that coming in. I don’t think on paper a lot of people gave us a shot, but I thought if we played well enough that we can beat them. I just thought the wheels fell off the second half and we’ve got to try to keep that from happening.”
Jacksonville 24, Alexandria 10
| JAX (24) | ALEX (10) | |
| 18 | 1st Downs | 10 |
| 38-112 | Rushes-yards | 32-130 |
| 11-23-0 | Comp-Att-Int | 2-8-0 |
| 186 | Passing yards | 19 |
| 0-0 | Fumbles-lost | 2-2 |
| 3-41.0 | Punts-avg. | 3-39.0 |
| 3-15 | Penalties-yards | 4-20 |
| Jacksonville (2-0) | 7 | 0 | 10 | 7 — | 24 |
| Alexandria (0-1) | 0 | 10 | 0 | 0 — | 10 |
J — Xzavier English 20 pass from Jim Ogle (Mason Terrell kick), 6:11 1Q
A — Cleat Forrest 28 FG, 8:50 2Q
A — Antonio Ross 31 run (Cleat Forrest kick), 4:46 2Q
J — Kydric Fisher 56 pass from Jim Ogle (Mason Terrell kick), 7:11 3Q
J — Mason Terrell 37 FG, 2:01 3Q
J — Xzavarious Turner 1 run (Mason Terrell kick), 9:32 4Q
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