Tale of the Tape – Calera 2025
Now that we have some kinks worked out with the stats, we’ll take a look at the stats from the Jags’ first win of the 2025 season – a 41-21 victory over the Calera Eagles.
It’s always a game-by-game situation, but some of the concern about the Jag offense was calmed after the offensive performance against the Eagles. Mayson Elam was very efficient at the quarterback position. (In my time at Northridge, I only remember Elam – a senior – at the varsity quarterback position, for any length of time, during his sophomore year.) Elam went 15-for31 for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Additionally, Adam Hall returned to the gridiron after last playing his eighth grade year. He hauled in the two touchdown passes from Elam. Hall totaled five catches for 78 yards.
Jaylin McCray was credited with 10 carries for 50 yards. Three of those 10 carries ended with McCray crossing the goal line. Elam added six carries and 53 yards. Damarcus Wilder had 10 carries for 39 yards. Magnus Greimel finished with nine yards on six carries and Demeriyan Cotton had one carry for eight yards.
Tate Espey led the Jags with with 86 yards on two catches, one being a 68-yarder. Hall had the aforementioned five catches for 78 yards with two touchdowns. Tye Welton had two catches for 45 yards. McCray added 39 yards on three catches. Keith Powell had two catches for 37 yards and Greimel added one catch for three yards.
McCray added 55 kick return yards to his rushing and receiving totals to lead Northridge with 144 all-purpose yards. Elam led the Jags with 341 total yards.
On the defensive side, Miller Arendale continues his quest as the photobomber of my Northridge football action shots. (And I say that as a compliment.) If you look back at the thousands of images that I have over the last couple years, Arendale seems to be somewhere in the frame of any given defensive play more than anyone else. Against Calera, Arendale led the Jags with 14 total tackles, three solo and 11 assists. Zaylan Hutchins had six solos and six assists for a total of 12 tackles against Calera. Ford Cole had eight total tackles, with three solo and five assists. Amani Knox flipped those with five solo tackles and three asissts, for a total of eight tackles. Kaideyn Rice totaled seven tackles with three solos and four assists.
Anthony Hyche and Cruz Lee were both credited with five total tackles, with three solos and two assists. Brylon Tubbs had three solos and one assist for a total of four tackles. Cedric Tinker had three solos tackles. Grayson Cannon had one solo and two assists. Javeon Jenkins, Brock Brewer, Julian Crenshaw, Jeremy Banks, Jonathan Shearer Brown and Jackson Pilsch were credited with two tackles each. Devin Brown and Kenny Colvin, Jr. rounded out the tackling with one tackle each.
Hutchins, Cole, Hyche, Lee, Tubbs and Banks were credited with tackles for loss. Sacks were recorded by Hutchins (13 yards) and Lee (12 yards). Cole picked off two Eagle passes and Cannon was credited with one. (Cannon would have had two interceptions, if the field was 161 feet wide, instead of 160 feet.)