JAGUARS HOPE TO REBOUND AFTER LOSS

Nearly a month after having played its last game, the Bluffton High football team fired on all cylinders Friday. Despite not having played a down since Sept. 30 because of Hurricane Matthew, the Bobcats (8-0, 2-0 SCHSL Region 8-AAA) easily defeated Ridgeland-Hardeeville 71-0. The Jaguars (2-6, 0-2 region) were shut out for the fifth time. RHHS hosts May River (1-8, 1-3) this Friday for homecoming. May River lost 68-0 to Wade Hampton last week. On Friday, Bluffton’s Jermaine Patterson went 9-for-13, passing for 121 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions, and Hunter Eldridge connected with receivers twice for scores and threw for 87 yards. “Great energy,” Bluffton coach Ken Cribb said. “I felt like we weren’t going to be real rusty; we’ve been working real hard and the kids have been doing a good job. We made some mistakes and had some turnovers, but I don’t think it was from anything other than being aggressive.” After forcing the Jaguars into the first of many three-and-outs with 10:25 left in the first quarter, the Bobcats scored at the 8:23 mark, capping off a six-play, 34- yard drive with a 3-yard rushing touchdown from Cameron Bent. Patterson threw the first of his touchdown strikes halfway through the quarter to Tyrese Sandgren (15 yards) to put Bluffton up 16-0 before I’kiem Jefferson extended the lead to 22-0 on a 7-yard touchdown run. The Bobcats’ defense limited the Jaguars to just two first downs and 44 yards. Jhabais Johnson and Tyler Lindo scooped up fumbles for the defense, and special teams chipped in as Bent used his speed to begin the second half with an 85-yard kickoff return for a score and a 29-yard punt return in the fourth. Cory McKie made up for bobbling two punt return catches with a big 50-yard return, and teammate Richard Jenkins had a tackle for a loss of 15 yards on a second down late in the second quarter, which forced a punt. Jenkins got part of his hand on that punt, slightly deflecting it, and had a short touchdown run of his own before the half.