O-R Athlete of the Week: Cole Jones, Jefferson-Morgan
Name: Cole Jones
School: Jefferson-Morgan
Class: Senior
Sport: Football
Jones’ week: With Jefferson-Morgan down to its final chance, the 6-0, 220-pound righthanded quarterback converted a fourth-and-15 play by hitting Jace Bedillion with a touchdown pass. Jones then kicked the game-winning extra point to give Jefferson-Morgan a 27-26 victory in overtime against Jeannette in a non-conference game last Friday at Parker Field.
Jones tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and a 55-yard scoring pass to Ewing Jamison. For the game, Jones completed 13 of 24 passes for 175 yards.
“I think it was a very big win because we were 0-16 up to this year through our non-conference games,” said Jones. “Even for our coaches, it showed this was not the same old Jefferson-Morgan.”
From the beginning of the game, Jones said he believed Jefferson-Morgan would win the game.
“I have a lot of faith in our team, not just the coaches but the way the players are progressing,” Jones said. “We definitely have a lot more skill players and the offensive line has played really well. All-around, we have better players.”
Jones has more than 400 passing yards on the season and 110 rushing yards for the Rockets (2-1).
Jones started playing football at age 6 in the area youth leagues. He has been a four-year starter at quarterback at Jefferson-Morgan but two of those years were cut short by serious injuries.
“In my sophomore year, I broke my shoulder and in my junior year, I tore my meniscus and fractured my knee,” Jones said. “I played two games last year and tried to come back here and there. In my sophomore year, I got hurt in the first game.”
An outdoorsman: To get away from football, Jones does anything outdoors: hunting, fishing and dirt bike riding.
He bagged a 9-point buck last year and snagged a 10-pound large mouth bass on a charter boat in Florida.
“It was the first decent deer that I got,” said Jones.
When Jones hits the dirt bike tracks, he brings out his bike, a CRF 250R–250CC from Honda powersports.
“I usually ride them around the local tracks or just around the woods,” said Jones. “Sometimes, I ride at High Point but I don’t do any races. I just do it for fun.”
Compiled by Joe Tuscano