By Rubin E. Grant
Homewood senior receiver Jackson Parris served notice in the Patriots’ first football game that he was ready to have a breakout season.
Parris fielded a punt and weaved 65 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter of Homewood’s season-opening 38-20 victory against John Carroll Catholic. It was the Patriots’ first punt return for a touchdown in three years.
“It all happened so fast,” Parris said. “I made one guy miss and then I cut back. I went from one side of the field and reversed it back to the other side and just went into the end zone.”
Homewood head coach Ben Berguson especially enjoyed it.
“That was so cool,” Berguson said. “We hadn’t had one in a while, then all of a sudden he busted it.”
Three weeks ago, Parris turned in another spectacular play when he caught a 95-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Woods Ray in Homewood’s 31-24 homecoming victory against Benjamin Russell.
“It was a post corner route,” Parris explained. “I made a double move at the top of the route and Woods put it there and I all I had to do was catch it and run.”
Parris has become Ray’s primary target this season. He finished the Benjamin Russell game with three receptions for 160 yards and two touchdowns. Through six games, he has 29 receptions for 560 yards, averaging 19.3 yards per catch, and three touchdowns. He also has gained 853 all-purpose yards.
“It’s been a pretty good start to the season for me,” Parris said. “Woods and I are connecting a lot more than we have in the past.”
The two worked out together frequently during the spring and summer and played in some 7-on-7 games to get better acquainted on the field.
Parris also did some drills to improve his footwork and route running, turning himself into the Patriots’ go-to receiver and taking better advantage of his speed. He has clocked 4.45 seconds in the 40-yard dash.
“I like to make big plays and I trust myself to do it more than anybody else,” Parris said. “I like to have the ball coming to me.”
Homewood coach Ben Berguson likes the way Parris has become accustomed to his new role.
“He’s by far one of the best all-around athletes in the school,” Berguson said. “He has tremendous hand-eye coordination. We don’t mind throwing a 50-50 ball to him because we expect him to come down with it. Him and Woods are the best quarterback-receiver duo we’ve had in a long time.
“He’s got that ‘it’ factor. He’s one of our team leaders. Everybody looks up to him. He’s well liked.”
Eenie Meenie
The 5-foot-11, 175-pound Parris is also a middle infielder on the Patriots’ baseball team. His athletic future beyond high school might be baseball, but he’s not ready to make that decision yet.
“I love both of them,” Parris said. “I couldn’t choose which one is my favorite. Right now it’s looking like I’ll play baseball in college, but if I get the opportunity to play football in college I’ll have to look into it.”
Right now, Parris is focused on helping Homewood earn a football playoff berth. The Patriots (4-2) sit atop the Class 6A, Region 3 standings with a 3-0 record in region play. They were off last week and will visit Chilton County (3-4, 0-4) Thursday in a region game.
Homewood lost to Pinson Valley 21-13 in a non-region game two weeks ago, but Parris described the game as a confidence builder.
“We learned we could play with anybody,” he said. “If we don’t come out timid or scared and go in with confidence, we can beat anybody.”
