He's got the game to go with the name

CHESAPEAKE

No one likes being compared to a successful older sibling.

Zack Jones gets twice the comparisons:

his older brothers, Joe and Perry, both were All-Tidewater football players at Oscar Smith.

"When people compare us, I just laugh at it," said Zack, a junior wide receiver and defensive back at Oscar Smith. "It's a chance for me to show what I can do."

Zack is carving out his own path at a different position - Joe and Perry were linebackers/running backs. Zack leads the Tigers with 42 receptions for 711 yards and 13 TDs.

Oscar Smith (12-1) travels to Northern Virginia to play Battlefield (10-2) at 2:30 p.m. Saturday in a Group AAA Division 6 state semifinal. The Bobcats, of Haymarket, are the defending state champions.

Oscar Smith coach Richard Morgan is careful not to compare the Joneses.

"He just wants to be Zack so I don't compare him to his brothers because I know he doesn't want that," Morgan said. "I told him before the year to just be Zack. If you be Zack Jones then you'll be all-state. And he has been."

An Oscar Smith victory Saturday would put the Tigers in the program's second state championship game. It will also set up a Jones reunion.

The state championship game will be played in Charlottesville at the University of Virginia, where Perry is a captain and standout running back. Joe Jones is an Oscar Smith assistant coach.

"I definitely think about it," Zack said. "Me and Perry text about it and we've talked about it. He keeps telling me I have to get there because he's never seen me play. It would really mean a lot to be there with my brothers."

Perry also is looking forward to a visit by his brother. In 2008, Perry was The Associated Press Group AAA Player of the Year and The Virginian-Pilot's Abe Goldblatt All-Tidewater Player of the Year as a senior when he led the Tigers to a state title.

But Perry and Joe have agreed repeatedly that Zack will be the better player eventually.

"He just has that raw talent that I don't even think he knows he has yet," Perry said. "Things that I have had to work for - like my speed - just seem to come natural to him."

Perry has never watched Zack in a varsity game, but he has seen his younger brother's skills first-hand. Before leaving for Virginia, they lined up against each other for drills. Zack, who had just finished eighth grade, was at wide receiver; Perry was on defense.

"Zack ran a simple post route, gave Perry a move and blew by him," Joe said. "We couldn't do anything but laugh. I mean, Perry was an all-state linebacker so covering people isn't too hard, but Zack blew past him."

"That has happened on a number of occasions," Perry said, laughing. "It's like he's so young, but he does things like he's a seasoned veteran. I knew then that he was going to be something special."

Zack played his freshman year at Great Bridge before moving to the Oscar Smith attendance zone last season. He sat out last year because he was academically ineligible.

"In the past he struggled, but I've seen a complete turnaround in that area," Perry said. "That's what I'm most proud of with him is he is getting it done in the classroom."

Zack has had little trouble fitting in on the field.

He earned first-team All-Southeastern District honors at both wide receiver and defensive back this season.

"He could be the best receiver in Virginia," Morgan said. "He's already up there. I don't see too many guys like him."

But talent isn't the only thing Zack has brought to the Tigers.

"He's really brought a fiery, go-get-it type of attitude that we needed," Morgan said. "He wants to win so bad, and that's just an element that the Jones family always seems to have."

And if all goes well Saturday, Zack will lead the Tigers back to the state championship game and to a family reunion.

"They have no choice but to come to Charlottesville because I've been bragging about them so much to my teammates," Perry said. "I'm expecting them to be here in two weeks."

Larry Rubama, (757) 446-2273, larry.rubama@pilotonline.com