by First Half
This rainy-day game began with a couple of quick drives from both teams. Neither team was able to achieve a first down and ended up both giving the ball right back to the other team.
A majority of the effort on the second drive for Chiles came from up-the-gut, tough runs from their running back Markus Lundy. The short drive was capped off by a 10-yard touchdown throw from quarterback Cason Philley to wide receiver Vito Vedder. On the sidelines afterwards, Lundy could then be seen encouraging the rest of his offensive unit, slapping their pads and continuing to motivate his teammates to keep up their good efforts.
One of the biggest difference-makers early on into the game was the special teams unit from the Timberwolves. Chiles wideout Jerell Washington took his first two punt returns for 40 yards total including a punt return that flipped the field in Chiles’ favor on their first touchdown drive. And punter Walker Bulloch booted his first two punts for 89 yards total.
The game took a sudden turn when Chiles muffed a punt inside the red zone, setting Wakulla up with an extremely short field, which ended with a QB sneak from Ashton Brooks from 1 yard out tying up the ballgame.
The War Eagles’ momentum didn’t stop there, when cornerback Demarkus Roberts got an interception on Chiles’ third play on their next drive. This is when the War Eagles decided to go with a different strategy than they had been using all game – free safety Jaylen Jones. The 6’3 athlete had also taken on punting duties for this game as well as now being used in wildcat formations. On his first play in wildcat, Jones scored on a 28-yard run that ended up being called back due to a Block in the Back penalty. Two Jones runs later, he scored again. But this time it counted. Wakulla was now up 14-7.
The two teams then exchanged punts before Chiles began to have success on a lengthy drive at the end of the second quarter. The Timberwolves had converted on two third downs on the drive already, but managed to keep their offense on the field as the clock trickled down. Chiles would then use all three of their timeouts so they could have as many plays as possible. There were then 3.6 seconds left on the clock with a 4th & 10 on the War Eagles’ 37-yard line. The Timberwolves lined up for a field goal but attempted a fake field goal pass. The pass was then intercepted by the War Eagles’ linebacker Rayshon St. Hilaire and taken back 70 yards for a pick-six as time expired on the half. This put Wakulla up 20-7 going into halftime
Second Half
In a fashion that very much resembled the first half, the second half began with back-to-back punts – one from each team. The combination of Timberwolves punter Walker Bulloch and the punt coverage of defensive lineman/tight end Zeke Currie pinned Wakulla within their own five. The War Eagles then took their time with their second drive, earning five first downs including a 17-yard gain off a jet sweep to wide receiver Bryce Manning to get them out of the danger zone. But eventually the drive stalled out and the 4th-down pass attempt was incomplete, turning the ball over on downs back to the Timberwolves.
Chiles once again punted back to the War Eagles after a three-and-out and gave the War Eagles another chance at putting the game away. Wakulla took advantage of this opportunity and marched down the field 95 yards in just 10 plays, which included a 35-yard dot from Ashton Brooks to two-way athlete Demarkus Roberts. The drive was capped off with a touchdown pass from Brooks to wideout Jarrell Rudolph for a 4-yard score.
The two schools once again exchanged punts afterwards. Chiles had the ball one more time, and with less than a minute left, Demarkus Roberts got an interception to essentially end the game. A few kneel-downs later, the game concluded with the score of 26-7.
Players of the Game
Chiles Timberwolves
Bo Pearson – 14 TKL, 3 TFL
Maryan “MJ” Jordan – 11 TKL
Walker Bulloch – 6 PUNT, 245 PUNTYDS, 40.83 PUNTAVG, 2 ~20PUNT
Wakulla War Eagles
Demarkus Roberts 2 INT, 9 TKL, 1 REC, 35 YDS, 2 PUNTRET, 70 PRYDS
Rayshon St. Hilaire – 6 TKL, 1 TFL, 1 INT, 67 INTYDS, 1DEFTD
Antonio Harvey – 10 TKL, 5 TFL, 1 SACK, 9.5TKLYDS, 6SACKYDS
