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By Carey Reeder | Staff Writer

Verbena High School got its eighth win of the season for just the second time since 1997 with a 66-0 thrashing of A.L. Johnson High School on Oct. 28. Verbena was 8-4 in 2015, the only other Red Devils team to compile an eight-win season the last 25 years.

“I am proud to be a part of this community, and the pride all of our boys have in being a Red Devil, and representing every past and future Red Devil by showing each week what dedication and hard work will yield you,” Verbena assistant coach Gehrig Douglass said.

Verbena started the scoring quickly with Jacob Morris taking a blocked punt 38 yards for a touchdown to put the Red Devils up 7-0. D.J. Jackson added two touchdowns later in the first quarter, a 70-yard connection from quarterback Johnathan Marino and a 66-yard interception return, to cap a 22-0 first quarter.

Morris got into the end zone again, and Jarod Quinn had a 38-yard rushing touchdown in the second quarter that stretched the Verbena advantage to 38-0 with four minutes left until halftime.

Chris Guzman returned a fumble 65 yards for a touchdown to send Verbena into the locker room with a comfortable 44-0 lead.

Verbena continued to pour it on in the second half as Jackson added a 56-yard touchdown, and Morris got into the end zone again for his final score. Marino posted the final score of the game with a 26-yard touchdown run.

“Our outlook going into Sweet Water is to do what got us this far, playing physical Verbena football and earning every yard,” Douglass said. “Sweet Water is a historically great program, and we are excited to be able to compete against a team like that first round.”

Verbena finishes the regular season with an 8-2 record, and travel to Sweet Water High School on Nov. 4 in the first round of the AHSAA Class 1A state playoffs.