WS Chronicle

JR’s Nick Imes (79) and teammates Adonis Jones (8) and Rashon Bethea (left) close in on the ball carrier during an early-season game against East Forsyth (Photos by Craig T. Greenlee) 

BY CRAIG T. GREENLEE

FOR THE CHRONICLE

The third time proved to be a charm for Reynolds JV football.

The Demons erased memories of two previous defeats by shutting down Glenn to earn their first win of the season two weeks ago. It was defense that set the tone for Reynolds from opening kickoff to the final whistle in an 18-0 shutout victory.

In the process, the Demons scored twice off turnovers, which included five interceptions. The disruptive front line, spearheaded by Saadiq Johnson, Harry Capizzi and Raymond Wilson, finished with four quarterback sacks for the game.

“Our defense played lights out, no question about that,” said Coach Rod Dunlap of Reynolds. “We didn’t do anything special. It was all a matter of every player paying attention to detail and taking care of their individual assignments. They were really dialed in and it showed in how they performed.”

Reynolds put the shackles on an explosive Bobcats offense by limiting big plays. There were few missed tackles and little or no yards after catches by Glenn receivers.

Free safety Chevar Snipes opened the scoring when he picked off a Bobcats pass and ran it back 60 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. The Demons added another score when quarterback Mysta Goodloe hooked up with Rashon Bethea for a 38-yard touchdown.

RJR led 12-0 at the half.

Bethea continues to prove himself as a hard-to-guard receiver. On the scoring play, he caught Goodloe’s throw on a 10-yard slant route, faked a defender out of position, then sprinted past the rest of the Glenn defense to the end zone.

The Demons put the finishing touches on a stellar defensive effort courtesy of Harry Capizzi. Glenn was backed up on its own 10-yard line and attempted a swing pass to one of the running backs coming out of the backfield.

As Capizzi, a defensive end, started to rush the passer, he noticed the back flaring out. So, instead of continuing his pursuit of the quarterback, he peeled back in the direction of the running back and came up with an interception, which he returned for a 10-yard touchdown to conclude the scoring.

Aside from Snipes and Capizzi, the other Demons who had interceptions were linebacker Nick Imes along with cornerbacks Aaron Clark and Frank Hines.

Now that the Demons have finally broken into the win column, Dunlap is hopeful that it’s the start of bigger and better things for his team. At the start of this week, Reynolds (1-2 as of Sept. 26) was looking to even its record in a Monday night home game against Davie County.

“You can preach all you want to about what it takes to win and having everybody buy in to your system of doing things,” said Dunlap. “But when you get a win, that’s when the players see the evidence for themselves that what the coaching staff teaches them really does work.

“Things are beginning to come together for this group. If we can stay healthy and not lose any players to the varsity, I feel like the future looks very promising for us.”