[By Anthony Hawthorne, Special to ETSN.fm]

TYLER -- Taking care of the football and winning the turnover battle are synonymous with winning football. This becomes especially important in bad weather.

The Mesquite Horn Jaguars (4-0) forced three John Tyler turnovers, grinded out yards on the ground and used a punt return touchdown to trample the Lions 47-17 on a rainy night at TMF Rose Stadium.

Rice-bound quarterback Destri White and tailback Justyn Oliphant combined for five scores, four of which came during a stretch of six straight possessions which all but put the game away.

White finished the night 5-of-14 for 119 yards through the air and rushed for 94 yards and three scores on just nine carries, the most impressive a zig-zagging 47-yarder that opened the second half. Oliphant would score on runs of 5 and 18 yards, finishing with 93 yards on 12 carries.

The ground game carried the Jaguars to nearly their season averages of 410 yards and 45 points, putting up 389 yards and 47 points, while for the most part avoiding the vaunted secondary of the Lions that gave up just 119 yards, 56 of which came on one play.

John Tyler quarterback Geovari McCollister runs upfield against Mesquite Horn on Friday at TMF Rose Stadium in Tyler. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
John Tyler quarterback Geovari McCollister runs upfield against Mesquite Horn on Friday at TMF Rose Stadium in Tyler. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
loading...

The Horn defensive front dominated all night, forcing seven sacks, one of which a huge hit and strip by Malik Thomas. This caused problems for John Tyler quarterback Geovari McCollister all night, as he was picked twice by Darreon Jackson. The rushing attack for JT was almost non-existent, with McCollister collecting 38 of the team's 103 yards on scrambles out of the pocket and almost half of those 103 yards coming late in the fourth quarter.

Coming off of a 44-0 victory over rival Tyler Lee just a week before, the Lions offense was out of sync all night against their former district rivals. McCollister would find Nick Cain early in the second quarter for a 13-yard strike to give JT a brief 10-7 lead, but the Lions struggled from that point. A team that had only one turnover in their first three games turned it over twice on three possessions on either side of halftime, giving the Jaguars 13 points in the process and Horn all the momentum it would need.

Touchdown runs of 5 and 18 yards by Oliphant and 6 and 47 yards by White combined with a 30-yard field goal from Taylor Lewis was part of a 30-0 Horn run over a 9:05 span during the second and third quarter that turned a 10-7 deficit into a 37-7 advantage.

The Lions' answer of a 72-yard pass from McCollister to Cain was quickly responded to by a 47-yard Lewis field goal and a 77-yard punt return for a score by Horn receiver Del’Michael High to close the scoring.

McCollister finished the night with 241 total yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions while Cain had seven catches for 122 yards and a pair of scores.

The Lions (2-2) play host to Nuevo Leon (Mexico) next week, while Mesquite Horn will begin 12-5A play by facing Tyler Lee at home.

Mesquite Horn 47 John Tyler 17
TMF Rose Stadium, Tyler

Mesquite Horn       7          16       24       0  -- 47
John Tyler              3            7          7      0  -- 17
First Quarter
MH – Destri White 22-yard run (Lewis Kick) 4:52
JT – Jose Perez 26-yard Field Goal :50
Second Quarter
JT – McCollister 13-yard pass to Nick Cain (Perez Kick) 9:20
MH – Justyn Oliphant 5-yard run (Lewis Kick) 5:18
MH – Taylor Lewis 30-yard Field Goal 2:17
MH – Destri White 6-yard run (Kick no good) :55
Third Quarter
MH – Destri White 47-yard run (Lewis Kick) 10:26
MH – Justyn Oliphant 18-yard run (Lewis Kick) 8:13
JT – McCollister 77-yard pass to Nick Cain (Perez Kick) 7:54
MH – Taylor Lewis 47-yard Field Goal 5:35
MH – Del’Michael High 77-yard punt return (Lewis Kick)  4:51

MH                 JT
First Downs                14                   14                                                                             Total Yards                389                 314
Rushes-Yards           41-266           33-103
Pass Yards                123                 211
Comp-Att-Int             6-18-0            16-28-2
Penalties-Yards         7-60                5-32
Fumbles-Lost             0-0                  1-1
Punts-Avg.                  5-34                5-33

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING – Mesquite Horn, Justyn Oliphant 12-93 (2 TD) Destri White 9-94 (3 TD) Jordan Shavers 1-10 Zach Patterson 5-47 Chris Robison 5-8 Bacardi Clark 8-30 Cameron McLemore 1-3. John Tyler, Geovari McCollister 12-38 Reggie Gipson 11-14 Jeremy Wilson 1-1 Dyran McDuff 7-39 Nick Cain 2-11.
PASSING – Mesquite Horn, Destri White 5-14 119 Chris Robison 1-4 4 John Tyler, Geovari McCollister 15-26 203 (1 TD 2 INT) Nick Cain 1-2 8.
RECEIVING – Mesquite Horn, Jarrison Stewart 1-11 Del’Michael High 1-21 Kakpa Mansaray 3-87 Jadden Nelson 1-4 John Tyler, Nick Cain 7-122 (1 TD) Duntavion Gross 5-60 Reggie Gipson 1-4 Rodney Bendy 1-18 Jeremy Wilson 1-(-1) Andre Crawford 1-8.

John Tyler's coaching staff on the sidelines against Mesquite Horn on Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
John Tyler's coaching staff on the sidelines against Mesquite Horn on Friday night. (Mike Davis, ETSN.fm)
loading...

More From East Texas Sports Network