Jones picked up two touchdowns in his team's victory, and also caught two passes for 48 yards.
"Offensively, he is a very talented kid," Walton coach Rocky Hidalgo said of Jones. "We're a running football team. We want to line up and bludgeon the other team to death every Friday. That's what we're good at - that's Walton football."
Jones certainly took his fair share of abuse as well, however. While he broke a 71-yard touchdown run in the first half, 22 of his carries went for 3 yards or fewer.
The game started Walton's way, with the Raiders taking possession after Etowah (2-3, 0-1) went three-and-out on its first series. Quarterback Parker McLeod then led Walton on an eight-play, 59-yard drive, culminating when McLeod connected with senior Zach Blaylock for a 10-yard score to put Walton ahead 7-0 just over 5 minutes into the game.
The versatile Blaylock also had two interceptions on the defensive side of the ball.
Etowah answered on its next drive, with quarterback John Oliver floating a perfect pass down the middle of the field to wideout Barrett Burns, completing a 33-yard scoring throw that leveled the score at 7-all.
After picking up only 1 yard on his first four carries, Jones broke loose on Walton's next possession, cutting up the middle of Etowah's defense for a 71-yard score.
The momentum continued to swing back and forth in the first quarter. On first down at the Etowah 21, Walton looked to extend its lead, but McLeod was intercepted by Etowah's Ben Rowell, who returned the pick all the way to the Raiders' 10.
Ryan Hopper would later connect on a 25-yard field-goal attempt, cutting Walton's lead to 14-10.
Walton looked to be in full control at halftime, leading 21-10 after holding Etowah to only 1 yard rushing in the first half.
The Eagles, however, got things moving in the third quarter.
On first down, and in Walton territory, Oliver faked a handoff to tailback Devonte Wheaton, fooling Walton's defense, and ran free down the right sideline for a 31-yard touchdown, bringing the Eagles within one score at 24-17.
Etowah forced Walton to punt on its next possession, but the game's turning point came on the Eagles' next series. With Etowah's offense finding its rhythm in what could have been a game-tying drive, the Eagles fumbled a handoff in Walton territory, and the ball was recovered by the Raiders.
What followed was a 13-play, 55-yard scoring drive by Walton, including a fourth-down conversion that killed Etowah's momentum. The Raiders' Jim Hogue dove in to end zone from 3 yards out to put the Raiders up 31-17 early in the fourth quarter.
"You can't turn the ball over against good football teams," Etowah coach Bill Stewart said. "If you turn the ball over at critical moments, you're going to give them chances that you can't afford to give them."
The scoreboard clock at Etowah's stadium began to malfunction in the third quarter, disrupting the flow of the game and forcing the officiating crew to keep time on the field.
"We just play until the last man drops," Hidalgo said. "It's tough when you're not sure how much time is left, but it's just something we had to fight through."
As for Walton, it remained undefeated on the season and will host fellow unbeaten Lassiter - the eight-ranked team of Class AAAAA - next week, a game that Hidalgo didn't shy away from hyping.
"Super Bowl of East Cobb next week!" he reminded his team of after Friday's game.
"Everyone has been talking about that game" Hidalgo added. "We're excited to play, Lassiter is excited to play - everything that is great about high school football will be on display next Friday at Raider Valley."
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