Hammond throws for 403 yards and four touchdowns in Cleburne’s win over Joshua

The Cleburne Yellow Jackets coasted to a 55-0 win over the Joshua Owls for a convincing homecoming win Friday at Yellow Jacket Stadium.

A week after winning the DFW Varsity player of the week honor, Cleburne junior quarterback Gunner Hammond threw for 403 yards and four touchdowns on 29-of-32 passing to go along with 65 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns on five carries as the Jackets improved to 4-0 overall and 2-0 in District 5-5A Division II play.

Hammond’s go-to target on the night was junior receiver Gavin Naquin, who had 17 catches for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

Naquin did most of his damage by going in motion before the snap and catching short forward passes from Hammond, stretching out the defense and then turning upfield for chunks of yardage. The Owls had no answer for it, but Naquin also had success splitting out wide as Cleburne utilized his strengths all over the field.

Hammond accounted for five touchdowns in the first half as the Jackets built a 34-0 lead by halftime.

Hammond gave Cleburne a 14-0 lead with a pair of three-yard runs in the first quarter, the first of which was set up by a 35-yard run by Hammond where he reversed field and outran the Joshua defense into the red zone.

Hammond added a 10-yard touchdown run to open the second quarter, then he tossed a 28-yard touchdown pass to Tylar Chumley. The Jackets’ final score of the first half came on a forward toss to Gavin Naquin, who went in motion at the snap and took it in from seven yards out.

The Jackets scored two more touchdowns on the same play from four and three yards out in the third quarter. Then Tyler Forsythe scored on a three-yard run in the fourth quarter to produce the final margin.

Cleburne’s defense held Joshua (0-5, 0-3) to only 11 first downs and 167 yards from scrimmage while the Jackets amassed 37 first downs and 592 total yards.

Cordell Brown rushed for 90 yards on 15 carries for the Jackets, with 85 of those yards coming in the second half.

In week 6, Cleburne visits Arlington Seguin in league play while Joshua hosts Waco University.

This story was originally published September 27, 2019 at 10:24 PM.