The Yellow Jackets bounced back from a heartbreaking 1-point loss at York Institute with a convincing 35-0 win over Monterey last week to claim their first region victory of the season.

Senior running back Vince Bryant scored three touchdowns, and junior quarterback Beau Roberts collected two scoring passes in front of the Crisp Field crowd in Coalmont.

“I am proud of the guys for the work they put in last week,” head coach Nick Bryant said. “They put a tough York game behind them and took care of business against a Monterey team that really challenged us last year.”

Justis Mainord, JC Dyer and River Hampton each tallied double-digit tackles for the unrelenting defense. Mainord and Dyer each had 11 takedowns and one tackle for a loss, while Hampton racked up five solo tackles and five assisted. TK Brown joined Dyer as the two Jackets to collect quarterback sacks. In the secondary, Easton Rymer batted away two passes, and junior Colton Meeks had one pass defensed.

On the offensive side of the ball, Bryant topped the century rushing mark for the sixth time this season, totaling 123 yards on the ground. His two rushing touchdowns were accompanied by a 61-yard scoring reception and a season-best 82-yard run.

Roberts showed off his arm a second time by finding junior receiver Rymer on a 70-yard touchdown pass. Roberts finished the night with 171 passing yards on 4-of-4 throwing, and Rymer led the Jackets (6-1) with 101 receiving yards on a pair of catches.

Junior back Brown accounted for a fifth GCHS touchdown on a 3-yard punch in the first quarter.

Grundy has its toughest assignment of the season this week against region rival Marion County. The Jackets host the undefeated Warriors (7-0) at Crisp Field Friday at 7 p.m.

Marion owns shutout wins over Whitwell, Monterey and Bledsoe County. It passed its hardest test of the year thus far two weeks ago with a 20-12 home win over Chattanooga Prep.

The Yellow Jackets have not hosted Marion County since 2022. Grundy is searching for its first win against the Warriors since a 21-6 victory in Coalmont in 2011.

Class 2A Region 3 Standings

Team Region Overall 1 Marion County 2-0 7-0 2 Bledsoe County 1-1 5-2 3 Grundy County 1-1 6-1 4 York Ins_tute 1-1 3-4 5 Monterey 0-2 2-5