GRIFFIN — The Spalding Jaguars won their first game of the season with a 41-0 win over Fayette County in Friday night’s homecoming game. Head coach Nick Davis said the Jaguars came into the game prepared, knowing they were playing a good team.

“Just being focused as we came out and played a great game,” Davis said. “Fayette County is in the same situation as we are, entering the game without having won a game. Those kids play hard, and I told our kids, ‘It’s not about Fayette County; it’s all about us, and are we going to be mature enough to go out and play well against a good team that we should beat, which is no knock on them.’ ”

Davis was familiar with many of the Tigers’ players.

“Those guys aren’t that experienced, as I coached a lot of those guys when they were ninth and tenth graders,” he said. “They are a great group of guys that do a great job, but tonight was about us and growing, while playing the way we’re supposed to play, and I think we were able to do that tonight.”

The offense was outstanding with KJ Mitchell accounting for four touchdowns. It was the most points that the Jags have scored this season.

“I hope we can get some confidence as we took our shots and executed tonight,” David said. “Fayette County isn’t a bad team on defense, as they have a good defensive line and linebacker play. However, we knew they would have a young secondary, and I told the coach we had to take chances downfield and give our guys a chance in one-on-one situations. I knew we could do that. It was great to see our kids having fun and seeing all the work they put in while enjoying some success. Hopefully, that will build confidence for the rest of the season.”

The Jags had several players step up; however, wide receiver Xavier Byrd stood out, scoring on a 35-yard touchdown.

“I’m super proud of Xavier Byrd, a kid who has been in the program and works hard every day,” he said. “I’m so glad to see him have some success, as that’s what it’s all about, as some of these kids don’t get any notoriety and they still come to work every day.”

Spalding’s defense matched the offense as they didn’t allow any points from the opposing team for the first time this season. The defense scored twice on turnovers and held the Tigers under 150 yards of total offense.

“I’m also proud of the way the defense responded, as they responded well to an adverse situation,” Davis said. “We had a fumble late and put them in the red zone, but the defense stepped up and stopped them from scoring. It was the first time all season that we didn’t punt the ball in a game, and I’m really excited about that, as it means less work for me this weekend on grading.”

Davis remarked on how well the defense stood against a physical second-half adjustment from the Tigers.

“The defense stood up as they came in, in the second half, with two tight ends to try and play big-boy football with us, but we stood the challenge,” he said. “We are small in stature, but one thing we are going to do is run, hit and play hard on defense.”