BROOKLET - From the opening kickoff, Southeast Bulloch dominated the Atomsmashers of Johnson High School, 47-13 to even up their record at 2-2 (2-1 in region play).

After winning the coin toss and kicking off to start the game, the Yellow Jackets surprised everyone with on onside kick that was recovered by SEB.

Four plays later, the Yellow Jackets were in the end zone on a two yard run for the first of two touchdown runs by Colby Smith. Thomas Edge’s extra point put SEB ahead 7-0.

Zito said he and his staff saw in their film study that Johnson may be susceptible to an onside kick as they only had four players lined up on their front line with a hole in the middle of the field.

“I decided if we won the toss, we want to defer and try to steal a possession and we executed it really good,” SEB Head Coach Jared Zito said. “We practiced it this week and we executed it in practice and that’s part of the game. We spent a lot of time on the special teams and so I’m really pleased to see some of that come to fruition on Friday.

Zito said moments like that can set the tone for a game early.

“Well, we can steal a possession and we can score on that possession, that really takes the air out of somebody,” Yellow Jacket Head Coach Jared Zito said after the game. “

The SEB defense stepped up on the Atomsmashers’ first play from scrimmage, with Smith intercepting a Shamari King pass to set up the Yellow Jackets second drive.

However, Smith taketh and Smith giveth away as on the next play, Smith would run for 26 yards, but fumble at the end of the play and see Johnson recover.

The Atomsmashers would then drive 80 yards, capped off by a 1-yard King run to tie the score at seven midway through the first quarter.

The Yellow Jackets would seize control of the game after that.

On their ensuing possession, Smith would take a handoff 58 yards straight up on the middle on the first play of the drive as SEB would retake the lead that they would never relinquish. Edge’s PAT would make it 14-7.

Johnson was able to move the ball on their next possession all the way to the SEB 26. However, on a first down play, they would fumble and sophomore DJ Brooks would scoop it up and race 76 yards untouched the other way to extend the Yellow Jackets’ lead to 20-7. 

After exchanging possessions in the second quarter without scoring, the Yellow Jackets would find themselves at their own 18 with 2:05 remaining in the half. Quarterback Colton Zito would find Eli Reed on a slant over the middle. He would break a tackle and race 65 yards before being tackled at the Johnson 17 yard line.

Two plays later, Jayden Murphy would take a handoff 11 yards to paydirt to extend the lead to 26-7 after the two-point conversion attempt failed. 

Johnson, likewise, tried to strike quickly just before the end of the half, but the Yellow Jackets picked off King’s pass for a second time in the half. This time it was senior Tyrone McGee who returned it 50 yards for the score. Edge’s third extra point of the half extended the lead to 33-7 going into the break.

“Tyrone McGee made a tremendous break (on the ball),” Zito said. “He’s a super athlete and I’m really happy for him. He’s playing really well on every side of the ball and he deserves it because he works his tail off.” 

The Yellow Jackets opened the second half with another quick strike, going 65 yards in four plays, culminating with a Murphy 40-yard touchdown run. Owen Turner’s PAT extended the lead to 40-7.

While not in a hurry to try to score, Johnson did execute their offensive gameplan on their next drive, going 72 yards in 22 plays in a drive that took 10:37 off the clock and extended into the fourth quarter. They converted three fourth downs and three third downs on the drive that saw the longest play go for only seven yards that ended with a one-yard run by King.

While pleased with the win, Zito was concerned about the inability of the Yellow Jacket defense to get off the field.

“You never like it when teams have a 22-play drive and so we’ll fix it,” Zito said. “We’ll see if there’s a schematic fix or if we were just playing too high or maybe we just lost interest in the game a little bit at that point,” he said.

Southeast Bulloch again wasted no time in responding, with Aaden Peterson taking the first snap on the Yellow Jackets’ next possession and going 45 yards untouched for the game’s final points.

Zito said it was “kind of a weird game” in which there were a lot of big plays both offensively and defensively from SEB.

“That’s always good to see some explosiveness,” he said. “They didn’t really stop us except for the one drive where we missed a field goal so I’m pleased there.”

The Yellow Jackets ended the night with 364 total yards of offense, including 292 on the ground. Murphy led the way with 124 yards on seven carries and two scores while Smith also topped the century mark with 112 yards on eight carries and two touchdowns. 

Through four games, Zito said that, overall, he likes where his team is at this point in the season.

“I feel like we’re rolling on all cylinders offensively and, defensively, we’re really close,” he said. “There’s just a few things. Third down conversions, right now, seem to be our nemesis. We’ve got to learn how to get off the field on third down.”

There was a scary moment late in the game when one of the ballboys for Johnson required medical assistance after an apparent seizure on the sideline. Medical personnel on site were there to provide care and he was wheeled off on a stretcher towards an ambulance with under five minutes remaining in the game.

Zito said he was “awake and somewhat responsive” but didn’t have any further details regarding the status of him.

The Yellow Jackets host Windsor Forest on Friday in Southeast Bulloch’s homecoming game. Kickoff for that is set for 7:30 at Fred Shaver Field.