What began as a fairly even battle for two quarters between the Jones County High football team and a ranked opponent ended as a double-digit Greyhound loss for the second time in as many weeks.

Where the ’Hounds’ Oct. 12 contest against Westside went from a 13-0 halftime score to a 34-0 final, this past Friday’s game against Baldwin saw Jones down just 20-14 at the half before losing 34-14.

The Braves, ranked fifth by the Associated Press and eighth by the GaSports.com Coaches’ Poll, took advantage of missed opportunities by the Greyhounds in the third quarter to score both of their second-half touchdowns.

Mistakes on each of the ’Hounds’ first three drives of the third quarter were the deciding factors in Friday’s contest, according to Jones head coach Bill Young.

Jones opened the second half with a 10-play drive that moved the ball from the Greyhound 25-yard line to the Brave 21. Place kicker Michael Sibley was short and right on a 38-yard field goal attempt, however.

Baldwin responded with a seven-play, 80-yard drive that concluded with a 21-yard run by quarterback Wayne Williams and a 24-yard touchdown run by running back Jerrico Ford.

With 4:10 to go in the third quarter and the home team up 27-14, Jones went three plays and out, moving backward 16 yards, due in part to a critical holding call on a third-down screen play that would have given the ’Hounds a first down.

Kevin Jackson’s punt from the 13-yard line gave Baldwin excellent field position at their opponent’s 39.

But just two plays later, a mishandled exchange between Williams and running back Kelvin Simmons was recovered by Jones’ Tavalas Simmons at the 19-yard line.

The ball bounced back to the Braves after just two more plays, however, as Terrance Gore mishandled an exchange from Andre Pope on an attempted double reverse, and Javarious Exum recovered the fumble for Baldwin at the Jones 14-yard line.

It took just two more plays for fullback Jamario Cooper to score from three yards out with just six seconds remaining in the third period. The extra-point gave the home team the 20-point lead that would be the final differential between the teams.

“That missed field goal and the big screen play that got called back – those are the kinds of things that will put you in a bind against a good team,” Young said.

The ’Hounds looked to be in a bind very early in the contest but fought back.

Baldwin’s opening drive went 57 yards and was capped by runs of five, 25, and one yard by Ford, who scored his first of three touchdowns on the evening.

Then, after a Jones three-and-out and a short punt gave the Braves a short field, beginning at the ’Hounds 45-yard line, the home team reached the 14 in five plays before Devon Pace picked off a Williams pass inside the five and returned it to the 11-yard line.

“That was a good pick and a good stop, and it really gave us some life,” Young said.

Despite the momentum shift, the Greyhound offense continued to sputter, going three and out once again and giving Baldwin the ball at the Jones 18-yard line after a nine-yard punt.

Simmons scored on a two-yard run five plays later, giving his team a 14-0 lead.

Jones offense responded with its first drive of more than three plays, going 67 yards in 14 plays. Quarterback Dusty Lanford scored on a three-yard run which cut the Braves’ lead to 14-7 with 6:02 to play in the second quarter.

After a Ford 23-yard touchdown reception with 2:47 until halftime put Baldwin up 20-7, the ’Hounds marched 75 yards in four plays, scoring on a 55-yard pass from Lanford to Gore just one minute and 16 seconds later.

“He has excellent speed and can be a deep threat,” Young said of Gore. “He made some very impressive plays.”

Gore had another leaping grab for 40 yards in the third quarter where he out-jumped a pair of Baldwin defenders for the ball.

Lanford finished 6-of-11 for 122 yards with one touchdown and no interceptions.

For the second week in a row a solid rushing performance by the quarterback was marred by sacks.

Seven losses for a total of 29 yards subtracted from Lanford’s 14 positive rushes for 59 yards. Greyhound running backs combined for just 20 yards on nine carries.

“We knew it would be hard to run the ball against their defense,” Young said. “So we thought our biggest running factor would be our quarterback, because he’s the one player their linebackers couldn’t account for.”

Defensively, Ian Tuft had 10 tackles and two assists, and Shannon Sands had eight tackles and three assists to lead the ’Hounds.

“I thought the kids played hard, and they did some things better than they’ve done them in the past,” Young said.