Calvary Day quarterback James Mobley IV dropped back to pass on the Cavs third play from scrimmage and threw an incompletion ― taking a late hit that sent him to the turf. His left hand hit the ground and he dislocated the index finger on his throwing hand.
Mobley IV ran to the Cavalier sideline with his finger bent back at a grotesque angle without a word, as Dr. David Palmer from Optim Orthopedics quickly went to work. Mobley IV did let out a yell as Dr. Palmer put the finger back in place, and quickly ran back onto the field ― missing just one play.
The senior quarterback showed his toughness and leadership as he helped lead the Cavs on a 15-play, 76-yard drive that ate nearly eight minutes off the clock. The opening drive set the tone for
host Calvary Day as the Cavs withstood some big first-half plays from Jenkins to walk away with a 30-13 non-region victory.
"I went down and my finger popped out, but I knew Dr. Palmer would help me out," said Mobley IV, who was 9 of 15 passing for 145 yards and three touchdowns. "This was a big win for us because they beat us last year and this was our first home game and we were playing in front of a sold out crowd. There were ups and downs, but we came out strong and stayed focused. They were trying to get in our heads, but we kept things going between the lines and came out on top."
Mobley IV went up top to Marlon Knight Jr., the 6-foot-2, 185-pound senior who has committed to Georgia Southern, with an 11-yard throw to the left corner of the end zone that Knight Jr. outleaped a defender to bring down for the score.
Jenkins then shocked Calvary Day after its methodical scoring drive with its big play ability as junior Tasean Rhodes broke loose for a 95-yard scoring run on the Warriors second play from scrimmage. After tightening up to force Calvary to punt in its next drive, the Warriors struck quickly again when sophomore quarterback Benari Wells-Williams found speedster Jayden Hooper for a 65-yard scoring pass on the next Jenkins play as the Warriors went up 13-8 with 11:50 left in the first half.
But that was it for Jenkins as the Cavalier defense buckled down and held the Warriors scoreless for the rest of the game. Linebacker Gabe Ausfeld had four sacks and Jeffrey McCormick and Elisha Williams also had sacks.
Mobley IV had a memorable scoring pass to senior tight end Jonathan Perry, who made the catch over the middle before trucking a Warrior defensive back at about the 15-yard line en route to the end zone for his first career touchdown.
The Cavs final touchdown of the night came on a 4th down play as Mobley IV connected with Ty Pinckney for the 5-yard score.
The Cavs ran the ball well as Zay Middleton led the team with 101 yards on 23 carries. Ca'Den Jones broke a 56-yard run and rushed for 65 yards one eight carries. Jalen Hicks came on late and ran four times for 43 yards, to go along with a pair of catches for 27 yards.
Rhodes ran for 136 yards on 10 carries for the Warriors, who had 183 yards rushing on the night and 269 yards of total offense, with 160 of those yards coming on their two touchdowns.
Calvary Day coach Jason Cameron, in his second season leading the Cavs, coached at Jenkins for three years, leading the Warriors to the state semis in his final season of 2019.
"I root for Jenkins every other week of the season, except when we play them," Cameron said. "A few of the coaches I worked with are still on the staff and I have a lot of respect for what they do over there. I thought we had a couple mental mistakes on defense that cost us early, but we came back strong. We have a young offensive line with a senior leader in Lawson Bentley, and they did great job tonight."
Dennis Knight covers sports for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at Dknight@savannahnow.com. Twitter: @DennisKnightSMN
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: How the Calvary Day football team won a physical battle with Jenkins
